In the New York Rangers first game against the Ottawa Senators, the penalty kill cost them the lead. Now, the Rangers have to make changes to the penalty kill to keep their edge in the series.
In Game 1 against the Ottawa Senators, the New York Rangers biggest issue was their penalty kill. Although they went 3 for 4 killing them off, they bled shots and opportunities, that Ottawa eventually capitalized on. It seems like Marc Staal and Brendan Smith are at the crux of these defensive mishaps.
The Problem
Staal, who has been a regular penalty killer for his Rangers career, has been slumping in his own end. Much like fellow defensive liability Dan Girardi, Staal is not afraid to use his body to block shots. Staal taking himself out of position to block shots is where the issue lies. His counterpart is more defensively talented, however.
Smith, acquired in a deadline deal with Detroit, has been dynamite. Paired with Brady Skjei on the third pair, Smith seemed unstoppable, and was making defensive plays all over the ice. A luxury that Smith doesn’t have with Staal is that Skjei can bail him out of defensive mistakes.
In the first period, Staal and Smith let up a dangerous scoring chance to Mark Stone, who was able to shoot from the crease. With Smith caught up in a line change, Staal dropped back and tried to disrupt the play with Mats Zuccarello. The simple miscue turned into a huge scoring chance for Stone, and Lundqvist bailed them out.
Lundqvist cannot bail them out every time, however.
On the Senators final power play of the game, Staal dropped to his knees to block a shot from Ryan Dzingel. Staal’s defensive play not only took him out of position, but it also screened Henrik Lundqvist, which prevented him from making the save.
The play begins with Smith attempting to take away the shooting lane from Kyle Turris at the point. When Smith slides across the ice doing a snow angel, Turris lifts a shot that hit Lundqvist high. The rebound then fell at the feet of three Senators players, with only Staal between Lundqvist and the puck. As a result, Staal tried to overcompensate and block the shot. However, he created a scoring change for Dzingel, costing the Rangers the lead.
Related Story: New York Rangers Take Ottawa For Granted, Leave Lundqvist Out to Dry
The Solution
The solution to the problem is simple. Smith and Staal should not be killing penalties together anymore, as both players make egregious mistakes that the other cannot recover.
When Girardi and McDonough are paired, Girardi drops the slack and McDonough picks it up. However, when Staal and Smith play together, both of them drop the slack, and it’s up to Lundqvist to pick it up.
The replacement options for Staal and Smith are slim to none. It’s especially relevant that wunderkind Brady Skjei has yet to see any shorthanded time this season, and Nick Holden is a worse option. Adam Clendening is also unproven shorthanded, and has not played since the regular season finale in Ottawa.
Next: New York Rangers Game One Thoughts: Play Harder, Faster
The Rangers’ penalty kill is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The duo of Marc Staal and Brendan Smith will cost the Rangers more goals this postseason if they continue killing penalties together.