New York Rangers: Five Thoughts Through 80 Games

Every 10 games, Blue Line Station takes a look at what’s happened. Let’s take a look at how the New York Rangers look through 70 games played.

1. The New York Rangers went 3-3-4 in their last ten games, owning a -3 goal differential. In the ten game stretch prior, New York went 5-5, with a -2 goal differential.

To be fair to the Rangers, the majority of the past ten games meant nothing. While Alain Vigneault played Ryan McDonagh like the games were for the Stanley Cup, realistically the team had less to play for than their opponents in nearly every game.

Still, a concerning statistic is that the Rangers allowed 30 goals in those ten games. Henrik Lundqvist continues to look mortal, and the defense continues to do him no favors.

Lundqvist is normally the least of my worries, but at some point the stats stop lying. Again, the belief here is not that the blame lies on him, but in the end everything must be better. The Rangers won’t get through the post-season giving up nearly three goals per game.

2. So the Rangers will play the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs. After them would likely be the Boston Bruins or Toronto Maple Leafs, but many seem to be missing the fact that the Rangers have to beat the Canadiens.

The only strength the Rangers could have over the Canadiens is forward depth. Montreal’s bottom six is hardly lethal, while the Rangers’ depth is their greatest attribute. However, Alain Vigneault may rob the team of their own biggest strength.

If Tanner Glass plays on the fourth line, the Rangers will hand the Montreal Canadiens the series. It’s that simple. However, if Glass is out of the lineup, expect a hard-fought battle. New York’s depth owns the ability to out-perform their own horrific defense. Goaltending should be a wash, with any slight nod going to Montreal.

If New York wants to get past Montreal, they have to play their best lineup. While the forwards are a potential problem, another possible ending to the Rangers’ season includes Dan Girardi and Kevin Klein both playing, and one of Brady Skjei or Brendan Smith leaving the lineup.

Isn’t the mere fact that we have to worry about these possibilities concerning?

3. Here is the lineup I would like to see the Rangers ice for the playoffs, assuming all of Vigneault’s favorites besides Tanner Glass have to be in the lineup.

Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello

Pavel Buchnevich-Mika Zibanejad-Rick Nash

J.T. Miller-Kevin Hayes-Michael Grabner

Jimmy Vesey-Oscar Lindberg-Jesper Fast

For the forwards, the concept is simple. Go with the players and lines that got you here. I have zero clue of why Alain Vigneault decided to demote J.T. Miller from the third line. Miller-Hayes-Grabner is the new Pouliot-Brassard-Zuccarello. Messing with their chemistry is asking for trouble.

Kreider-Stepan-Zuccarello have dominated lately and throughout the season, while Buchnevich-Zibanejad-Nash allows Nash and Zibanejad, two strong defensive players, to make up for Buchnevich’s one-sided game. Perhaps he can even learn while serving as a lethal weapon alongside the two stars.

Finally, Jimmy Vesey has shown chemistry with Oscar Lindberg. That as a fourth line allows the Rangers to roll four skill lines, something few teams can do. The Montreal Canadiens certainly can’t.

Ryan McDonagh-Brendan Smith

Brady Skjei-Marc Staal

Nick Holden-Dan Girardi

The idea here is that while Marc Staal is awful, he actually looked halfway decent with Ryan McDonagh covering his mistakes in his comfortable spot. Brady Skjei can replace Ryan McDonagh there, while McDonagh and Brendan Smith play upwards of 30 minutes a night.

Nick Holden and Dan Girardi should be given the wrong location for the game, or at least be sheltered for the majority of the game. However, the defense will be awful no matter what.

4. I don’t put any stock into the Rangers’ performance in games against the Montreal Canadiens this season. While the teams remain largely the same, the post-season is a different animal. It’s seven games of two teams giving it their all, playing back and forth hockey.

While the Rangers historically struggle in Montreal, don’t forget they won two of three in Montreal in the 2014 post-season. You can find a statistic to support or deny any claim about the Rangers and the Canadiens. However, it will come down to on ice talent in the post-season itself.

For the Rangers, priority number one must be icing the best roster. Priority number two must be ensuring Henrik Lundqvist feels like Henrik Lundqvist. That means no own-screens, no defensive breakdowns twenty seconds into the game, no 40 shots against.

If Lundqvist grows comfortable, he can take over the series. That’s huge.

5. Finally, let’s take a second to appeciate how wonderful it is being a Rangers fan. We will get to watch playoff hockey for yet another season. The only time the Rangers missed the playoffs in the Lundqvist era was when the team lost in a shootout in the final game.

We get important game after important game after important game, and at some points we take it for granted. Other fanbases would be lucky to see one-fifth of the playoff games we’ve seen in recent years.

Perhaps Henrik Lundqvist never wins a ring. Perhaps Alain Vigneault never figures out that Tanner Glass is horrible at hockey. I can’t tell you what will happen with any certainty.

Next: Thoughts Through 70 Rangers Games

What I can tell you, however, is that the Rangers will be playing in the playoffs. Again. They will have a chance at the Stanley Cup. Again. Thus, I can tell you on behalf of myself and Blue Line Station, we cannot wait. Let’s go Rangers.

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