New York Rangers: Alain Vigneault Cratering Chemistry
While the New York Rangers have faced inconsistency on the roster due to injury, head coach Alain Vigneault has only aggravated the situation by changing line combinations.
At the start of the 2016-17 season, the Rangers were dominant offensively because they had four lines established great chemistry. Throughout the Rangers first 34 games, however, injuries to key players have forced the team to re-evaluate the lineup.
On top of the already-evolving lines, Vigneault has been moving players around in hopes to see what sticks, however, it is only causing the team more hardship.
What the Rangers need now, more than ever, is consistency.
Changes Due to Injury
The Rangers have had two players who made an impact early in the season that they have lost to injury in the long-term – the first being Pavel Buchnevich and the second Mika Zibanejad.
Beyond those out for the foreseeable future, the Rangers have had players in and out of the lineup all season. Chris Kreider missed six games with a neck injury early in the year. More recently the Rangers’ young pickup in the bottom six, Matt Puempel, was out due to concussion protocol. Additionally, Rangers veteran forward Rick Nash has been out of the line up with a groin injury.
Kreider and Puempel have returned to the lineup since their injuries, however Nash did not play against Pittsburgh on Tuesday after his injury flared up again Sunday against the Devils.
When a team is forced to run a roster without certain players, it makes it difficult to maintain consistency. Vigneault’s choice to shift individual players in the lineup now is making it even more challenging for players to establish a dependable game. As a result, it has led to a decrease in the amount of offense that has been produced.
Vesey’s Struggles
Vesey’s presence while on a line with Derek Stepan and Rick Nash this season has arguably been the highlight of his short NHL career. Since Nash has been out and Stepan has been moved up to fill the hole on the first line, Vesey has had a hard time finding his game sitting where he is in the lineup.
Last night against Pittsburgh, he perhaps looked as good as he has without Nash. Playing with Jesper Fast and Oscar Lindberg was a positive, as all three has scoring opportunities throughout the game.
This is an interesting scenario in that upon Nash’s return, Vigneault will have to decide if he wants to wait and see how Vesey plays with the younger talent, or put him back on a line that has Nash as comfortable, reliable veteran leadership.
The Transition of Fast and Lindberg
Jesper Fast and Oscar Lindberg are two players that were moved up from the fourth to the third line, which is definitely justified based on the way they have played in recent games. After Marek Hrivik was pulled up from the Harford Wolf Pack on December 5, the three players seemed to find some solid footing and played a fast game.
On Sunday night’s game against New Jersey, Hrivik played his first game on a line with Grabner and Puempel, and the three were basically unnoticeable. However, last night Hrivik assisted on Puempel’s goal in the first period.
The choice to move two players up and leave Hrivik, who has played eight games in the NHL this season, with new linemates means that he will have to go through the process of reestablishing a familiar game. Keeping him with Puempel and Pirri for the time being may not be a bad choice for Vigneault to make.
Pulling Players for Performance
This is one of the most logical things a head coach can do in their position. When players are not living up to the expectations that are set out for them, they should be given a warning. This usually does the trick.
However, part of the reason players aren’t performing as well as they could is a result of Vigneault screwing with the roster beyond making the necessary changes due to injury.
By continuing to shift players to different lines, Vigneault is effectively robbing his players the opportunity to gain any chemistry in their roles.
Final Thoughts
Normally it is good to experiment with the lineup while it is still early in the season. However, Vigneault is spreading his talent too thin in the wake of injuries to players. These holes that have been left on the roster are already affecting consistency in the Rangers game.
Giving players a wake up call by scratching them for a game is a standard coaching tactic. Shifting lines in times of uncertainty may lead to some kind of hidden chemistry between players. However, for right now, what the Rangers need is four consistent lines that they can roll out while they wait for their roster to get back to full strength.
If you look back on two of the Rangers most successful seasons in recent memory (2013-14 and 2014-15) you will notice that aside from some changes do to injuries, the lineups were almost exactly the same throughout those two seasons.
Next: Rangers must ask more of Vigneault and Gorton
This is what works, and it is something that the 2016-17 Rangers have yet to experience.