Blog Archives
Following win over Ducks, Rangers continue Cali road trip against Kings
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Despite getting dominated in possession and getting worked over by the Ducks, the Rangers (40-23-7) picked up their 40th win of the season with a tightly contested 2-1 win, with Kevin Klein recording his first career two goal game. Now they continue their road trip on the west coast against the Pacific Division leading Kings.
Against Anaheim, the Rangers did not play their best game. They played a resolute style of defensive play, but the same problems that have plagued them recently continued to affect the game. Turnovers and careless play, poor transition, and more. You know the script. In fact, it took 19:30 for the Rangers to have a successful carry into the Ducks zone. That’s not good. The team as a whole was a -18 in corsi for, with Dan Girardi (-14) and Tanner Glass (-13) finishing worse in individual possession. Only three players finished positive in corsi for.
But they found a way to win. That seems to be the script for the season. The Rangers play alright, go dormant for a few stretches, and get bailed out at times by goaltending or lucky bounces, or simply outscoring the opponent. Needless to say, it’s an unsustainable type of hockey that probably won’t be a winning style of hockey in the playoffs.
Things don’t get easier as they take on the Los Angeles Kings for the second time this season. The Rangers lost in frustrating fashion to the Kings at Madison Square Garden on February 12th, falling in overtime after Anze Kopitar scored with 29.7 seconds remaining in regulation. Kevin Hayes, Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan each picked up a goal and an assist, and Viktor Stalberg also found the back of the net. The Rangers have earned a point in their last three trips to the Staples Center (2-0-1).
Jonathan Quick is the expected starter for the Kings, looking to build on an already strong season. Quick posted a shutout in his last start, stopping all 32 shots he faced. He’s 35-17-4 with a 2.14 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
Tyler Toffoli is en route to the best season of his career, posting a career high in goals (26) and leading the team in that category. He’s a point shy of equaling his career high total of 48 points. Nine of his goals are on the power play, four have been game winners, and he’s scored in two straight games.
Milan Lucic has been playing excellent hockey as of late, enjoying a strong first season out in California. Known for his aggressive game and physical brand of hockey, Lucic is feared for his scoring ability just as much as his ability to lay a huge hit. Lucic is riding a seven game point streak (3-6-9) and has 45 points (17-28-45) in 68 games. He’s also a tremendous possession forward, owning a 59.15 Corsi for percentage. Watch out for him.
After getting the night off, Henrik Lundqvist will be back in net for the Rangers. Hank has lost his last three starts, allowing three or more goals in all of the games. However, he’s been excellent against the Kings recently, with a 1.01 GAA and .966 SV% in his last two appearances.
Like the Ducks, the Kings play a physical brand of hockey due their large group of forwards. So like last night, Alain Vigneault will use his fourth line extensively. Tanner Glass, Dominic Moore and Viktor Stalberg all played over 11 minutes, with Glass getting the primary assist on the game tying goal. Glass actually has three points in the last nine games (2-1-3), which is half of his point total from last season. Hopefully this line combination does well and works tonight.
Keith Yandle is the only Rangers defenseman with 40 points this season, scoring five goals and tallying 35 assists this season. He has a point in eight of the last 12 games against the Kings, with 13 points (3-10-13) in that span. In 40 career games against the Kings, he has 25 points (5-20-25).
The Rangers and the Kings will faceoff at the Staples Center at 10:30 PM. The game will be broadcasted on MSG.
EXPECTED LINES
Rick Nash-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Jesper Fast
JT Miller-Eric Staal-Kevin Hayes
Tanner Glass-Dominic Moore-Viktor Stalberg
Ryan McDonagh-Kevin Klein
Keith Yandle-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Dan Boyle
Henrik Lundqvist
Rangers begin crucial California Road trip in Anaheim; Raanta in net
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After a tough run and four losses in the last six games, the Rangers (39-23-7) begin a crucial road trip on the west coast with a game against the Anaheim Ducks (38-21-9), presenting a chance for them to get rolling as the season comes to a close.
The Rangers have lost back-to-back games for the first time since December 20th, and have lost four of the last six games. Recently they have been out possessed, generating very little scoring chances (8 SOG in last 40 minutes versus Penguins), and relying way too much on goaltending. It’s reminiscent of November and December, when the team was scoring on an extremely high percentage of their shots but allowing too many scoring chances. Eventually it caught up to them and the team went through a massive slump.
This is the last time a team wants to start slumping. Going into the playoffs with momentum and confidence can make the difference between a first round exit and advancing to the second round.
Last season the Rangers swept their California road trip, winning games against the Kings, the Sharks and the Ducks. While they were already playing well before that, the success from that road trip was a turning point in the season and helped propel them to the Presidents’ trophy. A good road trip here could be just what the Rangers need. And with the Islanders and Penguins right at their heels, points are crucial right now.
At the start of the season, the Ducks looked like a disappointment, and they didn’t look like a playoff team. They just snapped a three game skid with a 7-1 win over the New Jersey Devils. But prior to that, they put themselves right back in the playoff race by winning 20 of 23 games (20-2-1) since January 13th. Everyone is playing well, they’re scoring goals again, and they’re a strong team in the Western Conference.
This is the second and final matchup between these two teams this season. The Rangers won the first meeting at MSG in overtime thanks to a goal from Mats Zuccarello, giving New York a 3-2 win. Derick Brassard scored twice and the Rangers were 1-5 on the power play. Henrik Lundqvist made 19 saves for the win.
One of the moves that helped spark the Ducks’ run was trading for David Perron, shipping Carl Hagelin to the Penguins. Both teams have benefitted from the move, but The Ducks have gotten a lot of production out of Perron. In 25 games he’s collected 19 points (8-11-19), which is more than what he had in Pittsburgh in 43 games. He’s fit in really nicely alongside Ryan Getzlaf on the top line and he’s injected some life into the Anaheim lineup.
The Ducks have also seen a lot of growth in one of their better young prospects, Rickard Rakell. The 22 year old Swede has set career highs in goals (18) and points (39), and is one assist shy of tying his career high there as well. Rakell is second on the team in goals and third in points, behind Getzlaf and Corey Perry. He also has six game winning goal and brings a strong, two-way game along with physical play. Rakell will likely skate alongside Perry, who leads the team with 29 goals.
Bruce Boudreau has been starting his goalies in two game stretches, and if that trend continues, John Gibson will start tonight. Frederick Anderson won his last start against the Devils, and is 9-1-1 in his last 11 decisions. But the rookie Gibson has been very good this season, posting a 16-9-3 record along with a .919 save percentage and a 2.23 GAA. He’s lost his last two starts (0-1-1) but has won seven of his last 10 decisions (10-2-1).
For the Rangers, Antti Raanta will be in net against the Ducks, his second career appearance against them. Raanta made 34 saves in his last start, a 4-2 win over Buffalo, and he’s continued to play well as of late. He has allowed two goals or less in four of his last five starts, and the one loss came in that crazy game against the Islanders. Raanta is 8-5-2 with a .912 save percentage and a 2.46 GAA.
While the Rangers are cooling off, Chris Kreider is heating up. At times he has been inconsistent and quiet, but his five goals in the last nine games, including goals in both weekend games, show a move in the right direction. Kreider has also improved in front of the net, and has been much more noticeable on screens, deflections and getting to the dirty areas, which is exactly what the Ranger need from him.
Derick Brassard made his triumphant return to the Rangers lineup on Sunday, scoring a power play goal for the third consecutive game. He leads the team with 25 goals as well as in power play points (8-11-19), where he has formed a formidable pairing with Keith Yandle at the point. Brassard has been reunited with Mats Zuccarello, the team’s leading scorer (22-31-53), and Rick Nash in an attempt to reignite the line that caused so much damage last season.
The Rangers and the Ducks will faceoff at the Honda Center at 10:30 PM. The game will be broadcasted on MSG+.
EXPECTED LINEUP
Rick Nash-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Jesper Fast
JT Miller-Eric Staal-Kevin Hayes
Tanner Glass-Dominic Moore-Viktor Stalberg
Ryan McDonagh-Kevin Klein
Keith Yandle-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Dan Boyle
Antti Raanta
Rangers long-term plan on defense remains murky
John Dundon
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
The Rangers currently have something of a log-jam defensively.
With the emergence of Dylan Mcilrath, and now Brady Skjei showing that he can play at the NHL level, the Blueshirts have 8 capable defensemen to fill in six roster spots. This is certainly not an issue—quite the opposite in fact. The deep group of defenseman that the Rangers have at their disposal will help to minimize the significance of post-season injuries that come with the grind of a deep playoff run.
What can be seen as a strength now could potentially become a weakness for the Rangers if not handled properly in the coming summer. As it stands, both Keith Yandle and Dan Boyle will be leaving the team for free agency and (probably) retirement, respectively. For the Rangers to lose two of their top three puck-movers from the back end in the same summer would be disastrous.
The good news is that Mcilrath has proven he can be a physical force on the blue line and has added a snarl to the Rangers d-core that they haven’t had in the last few years, while also being a solid right side defenseman. Brady Skjei has shown off his all-world skating ability in his opportunities with the big club. While there have been some hiccups, Skjei has all of the tools to be a really good top four defenseman for the Blueshirts for a long time.
While having two defenseman of the proper handedness to step in and fill the voids left by Yandle and Boyle is ideal, asking Skjei, 21, and Mcilrath, 23, to replicate the production or even to fill the holes that will be left on the power play would be unfair to the two youngsters. Couple this with the fact that Dan Girardi and Marc Staal will have aged another year (they’ll only be in decline from here), and you have a potential disaster defensively. Likely worse than what we’ve been subject to at times this season.
So how can the Rangers avoid being bad defensively for the foreseeable future?
The possibilities are endless as far as how the Rangers will attack their defensive outlook in the coming summer. The one thing that complicates matters most is the fact that both Marc Staal and Dan Girardi–whom the Rangers signed to similar contract extensions last season– have no move/no trade clauses that are currently in effect. Girardi has a full no-move that will turn into a modified no-trade NEXT summer. Staal is also protected by a full no-movement clause until 2017-2018, when it will turn into a modified no-trade.
Trading Girardi would require the 31-year-old—a husband, father, and by all accounts happy resident of NYC—to accept a trade to the proposed destination. Needless to say, it isn’t likely that Girardi would waive and leave one of the most lavish scenes in the NHL, displacing his young family in the process. Same goes for Staal.
The Rangers are facing a scenario in which you have a pair of declining defenseman in Girardi and Staal being mainstays while youngsters find their footing as every-day NHLers. There are going to be some rough patches and kinks to work out for both Skjei and Mcilrath. It probably will not be pretty, but there are no solutions to this problem.
Or are there? I argue that finding a way to keep Keith Yandle IS the solution to this problem. Can the Rangers do that though? It is highly unlikely
You should have already accepted that the Rangers will be losing Keith Yandle. Unless there is an extremely generous hometown discount on his part, Yandle won’t be a Ranger after the group leaves the ice for the final time in May or June.
Here is why the Rangers can’t bring back Yandle: if he was to get $5.5 million for his services, then the Rangers would have over $21 million—north of 30% of the team’s cap space—tied up in four players, two of whom are not very good and only going downhill. Obviously, Yandle is better than no Yandle, but that ship seems to have sailed.
Best-case scenario The Rangers find a suitor for one of Staal or Girardi and they agree to waive, opening up cap room to keep Yandle and bring up the kids to peg in the holes left by Boyle and the traded player.
McDonagh-Klein
Yandle-Mcilrath
Skjei- Girardi
That would be a pretty good top six any way you shake it. Unfortunately, it is growing increasingly unlikely that things will come out this way.
The realistic scenario is one that sees the Rangers losing Yandle and Boyle and plugging the holes with homegrown talent, which in itself is not a bad thing. The bad thing will be losing one of the top defenseman in the league because the Rangers two resident possession-killers were given NMC’S. Womp.
McDonagh-Girardi
Staal-Klein
Skjei-Mcilrath
Meh. Just meh.
My solution sees the Rangers doing anything and everything in their power to retain Yandle, and go from there. Girardi and Staal become easier to move as time goes on and we see what the future holds. I would suggest an attempt at trading Rick Nash and his $7.8-million-dollar cap hit, but that’s a conversation for another day. All I know is that Keith Yandle is too good to watch walk away. Even move Kevin Klein if you have to move money or open spot for the kids.
Any avenue the Rangers chose will be highly scrutinized and probably hated by fans. Should be fun!
Lundqvist to start in Detroit tomorrow; Good chance Nash and Staal play vs Red Wings
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers can expect Rick Nash and Henrik Lundqvist back in the lineup tomorrow. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
After today’s practice, Alain Vigneault said the one thing that all Rangers fans were waiting to hear for an entire week.
“Hank is good to go,” Vigneault told reporters.
Henrik Lundqvist had suffered neck spasms after colliding with Ryan McDonagh in the loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, which was when he knocked over the net to get a needed stoppage. He’s missed the last three games, and Antti Raanta is 2-1-0 filling in for those starts. Read the rest of this entry
The Rangers should keep Raanta and Stalberg past this season
Bobby Bevilacqua
Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Jeff Gorton is going to have a lot of decisions to make this offseason, whether it be trading some of the big contracts currently on the team or finding a way to allocate money to all of the free agents. With all of the expiring contracts, that will be some of the hardest decisions he has to make. But two of the players that he should absolutely keep are Antti Raanta and Viktor Stalberg.
Both players were offseason acquisitions, and both have been pretty important members of the Rangers this season. Raanta took over the big void left by Cam Talbot, and Stalberg supplied a much needed presence in the bottom six.
Raanta has been largely solid for the Rangers in his first season here. Gorton traded prospect Ryan Haggerty to the Blackhawks and snatched the Finnish netminder to backup Henrik Lundqvist. Raanta has the same luxuries that Cam Talbot had in his time here, mainly learning from Lundqvist as well as goalie guru Benoit Allaire.
Raanta won four straight games to start the season, allowing five goals in four games, including two games with just one goal allowed as well a one shutout. He lost his next six games, two in overtime, despite playing well in three of those.
A big reason for his losses wound up being irregular playing time as well as injuries. Raanta was bothered by concussion-like symptoms after taking a shot to the mask in a game against the Minnesota Wild. He had a gap of over a month between his two starts, and then back issues forced him to miss nearly another month.
Since getting regular starts, Raanta has been a lot better, and has even stolen some games away lately. He’s won four of his last five starts, allowing two goals or less in all of the wins, and having only one setback against the Islanders. But to be fair, I don’t think many goaltenders would have had success with the defense that was being played in that game.
There’s really no positives out of a player getting injured, but if there was one surrounding Raanta, it’s the fact that he’ll be pretty cheap to re-sign. He hasn’t done enough to get a contract well over a million dollars, and I think it’ll be closer to the value of an entry level contract ($925k). If he’s asking much higher than that, there’s always Magnus Hellberg. But I don’t think it will come to that.
Viktor Stalberg has been one of my favorite offseason acquisitions, and his $1.1 million contract makes it even better. He’s not a prolific goal scorer, but he’s just a really well-rounded player. The best way to explain it is that he’s a poor man’s Chris Kreider. Stalberg has incredible speed that catches player’s off guard, he’s very strong on the forecheck and he has been used effectively in defensive roles and on the penalty kill.
So far, Stalberg has tallied 18 points (8-10-18) in 61 games. And while the numbers don’t look fantastic, Stalberg has been pretty unlucky at times, hitting the goalpost and getting robbed of some other chances. Granted, he doesn’t have the best hands so he doesn’t finish as much as some would expect, but he’s a very solid bottom six player who can stretch as a second liner when needed or if he’s having a good game.
Stalberg has also done a decent job of filling the void left by the departure of Carl Hagelin. Stalberg has a better 5v5 Points/60 rating (1.45 to 1.40) and a better 5v5 Primary Points/60 rating (1.09 to .86) than Carl Hagelin, and his Corsi For% of 47.50 is alright.
For $1.1 million, Stalberg is a bargain. And with a bit more luck and some better finishing, he could hit the 13-15 goal mark in a good year. Because of his versatility, his speed and his ability to produce more, Stalberg should be kept after this season.
therangerzone.com 