New York Rangers Step by Step Guide: Tanner Glass over Pavel Buchnevich

Wondering how one can arrive at the idea that the New York Rangers should play Tanner Glass over Pavel Buchnevich in the playoffs? Here’s a step by step guide on how to get there.

When the New York Rangers take the ice on Wednesday night, one significant question will be answered. Will Pavel Buchnevich be in the lineup for the playoff opener, or will the Rangers bench yet another offensive contributor in favor of enforcer Tanner Glass?

For odd reasons, many believe Glass deserves the fourth line spot over Buchnevich. Arriving at this thought seems like an odd endeavor. However, we are a blog of the people, so we would like to walk you through how to arrive at such a notion.

Step One- Ignore the 2016 NHL Playoffs

Remember the 2016 NHL playoffs, when New York got bounced out of the first round of the playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins? One of the top storylines in that series was New York’s inability to match Pittsburgh’s speed.

When the series was nearing its end, Alain Vigneault opted to scratch Kevin Hayes in favor of Tanner Glass. The Rangers were understandably bullied out of the last game, with Glass looking lost in the competition.

The lesson to learn from the defeat is that Vigneault cannot afford to go with size over speed and skill in the playoffs again, right?

Right! Unless you choose to ignore the 2016 post-season. Simply pretending the series never happened leaves you with the thought that hey, maybe Glass can be the missing piece on the fourth line. And who doesn’t want to ignore context in favor of an argument with zero backing?

Step Two- Look at the Montreal Canadiens’ Bottom Six

At the NHL Trade Deadline, the Montreal Canadiens shipped out some useful bottom six players in exchange for some big bodies. With that, many are inclined to believe that the Rangers must match that size with size of their own.

However, that’s not how this works! The Canadiens gave the Rangers a gift when they acquired Steve Ott, for example. Steve Ott is not good at hockey! Pavel Buchnevich is good at hockey! Rather than matching the Canadiens’ mistake with a mistake of their own, New York can exploit their weakness with a strength. Suddenly, the bottom line is an advantage.

One look at the Canadiens’ bottom six sparks worries for those who believe size must be matched. While New York does not match that size, you can’t hit what you can’t catch. Letting Buchnevich work his magic on inferior players works much more effectively than having Glass skate in circles with Steve Ott.

Step Three- Misunderstand Mistakes

One of the biggest arguments against Pavel Buchnevich owning a spot in the post-season lineup is the fear that he will make a costly mistake. Perhaps he won’t back-check enough, or maybe he sends a blind pass that gets intercepted by the Canadiens.

While Buchnevich is prone to mistakes like everyone else, he also presents far more potential for positive outcomes. Tanner Glass will make as many miscues if not more, while providing zero opportunity for positive outcomes.

Would you rather have the player that could score a game winning goal in the lineup, or the player that could flub a wide open opportunity to do so? Buchnevich and Glass at worst bring the same possibility for mistakes to the table.

This is where many get weird about Buchnevich’s age. Buchnevich being younger does not inherently make him worse or less knowledgeable. Age does not determine talent or success. If that was the case, the Rangers might as well bring Rod Gilbert back into the fold. He’d make no mistakes!

Next: Five Must-Know 2016-17 Stats

When push comes to shove, the Rangers have hockey games to win. There’s no logic behind thinking Tanner Glass provides more talent than Pavel Buchnevich. If you want to talk yourself into believing Glass is the answer, go ahead. But the only question Glass is the answer to is “why were the Rangers eliminated earlier than expected?”

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