New York Rangers Eric Staal Is All Over The Place

Eric Staal The Rangers Center/Wing

Tonight the New York Rangers start their two game road trip in Pittsburgh. During this rivalry match the Blueshirts should look to complete two tasks;

• First, obviously the Rangers want to win. The team has struggled on the road this year. The Rangers are 14-14-3 away from MSG and the majority of this month will be played outside of New York. The teams number one priority and concern is creating space between them and the rest of the Metropolitan division.
• Next, and of equal importance, the New York Rangers need to concentrate on the development of Eric Staal.

Eric Staal joined the squad last week and since then he has played in one game and participated in two full practices. When the Rangers took on the Blue Jackets last week, Staal played at both the center and wing position. He started the game as the New York Rangers third line center, which placed him between both Oscar Lindberg and Kevin Hayes. However, during the third period, Staal found himself playing with Zuccarello, taking Brassard’s Left Wing position.

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This instability is somewhat necessary. Staal’s adaptability is heavily dependent on chemistry, which isn’t something that can be analytically calculated, it also takes time to develop. However, while Staal is going through this cohesive renaissance, people expect him to produce.

There is no doubt in my mind that Staal will settle into his new role with the New York Rangers, in fact there were foreshadowing statements made by players and coaches alike after the Blueshirts practice yesterday, which give off the same feeling of hopeful optimism.

New York Rangers captain, Ryan McDonagh, told media members that Staal is asking more and more questions about New York’s system. McDonagh went on to explain how this is a good sign and he even made the comment, “He is getting up to speed quick.”

With this being said, Staal found himself back between Lindberg and Hayes during Wednesdays practice. When Staal did team up with the other third liners, it was reported that Lindberg and Hayes seemed to play much better. Rangers head couch, Alain Vigneault touched on the challenges that come with the addition of new talent over half way through a season,

"“We do have a little challenge moving forward in the sense that we’ve got to find some right chemistry between our lines since the addition of Eric.”"

Vigneault also alluded to the fact that once Nash returns, there are many creative solutions to this problem that most teams would enjoy dealing with. He even mentioned the possibility of pairing Staal and Nash on the same line with Staal at center and Nash at wing.

The Rangers will be in Pittsburgh tonight and may even dress Jasper Fast. Fast has been suffering from flu-like systems, but he did travel with the team. Every game at this point in the season is critical and this game is no exception. However important this game is, if the Rangers give up points tonight in an attempt to find Eric Staal a place on the ice, all should be forgiven.

Next: Five Rangers. Four World Cup Teams.

The Rangers can ill afford to go on a losing streak of any kind, but if they can find Staal a position on a line that elevates the entire teams performance, it is worth it. By tinkering with the lineup and depth chart tonight, a possible solution can be found. After all, the New York Rangers are playing a team they know they will see again. Limiting the damage to one game and finding a place for Staal is better than only making minor changes each game while losing.