New York Rangers: Five decisions that are coming back to haunt them

#1: Splitting up McDonagh and Shattenkirk

Putting Ryan McDonagh and Kevin Shattenkirk on separate lines is a decision that has impacted the New York Rangers in nearly every game this season.

Shattenkirk was one of most talked about free agents this offseason. His decision take a salary cut to sign in New York made headlines. It was expected that upon his arrival in New York, he would play with Ryan McDonagh on the top pair.

Shattenkirk is an NHL veteran with great offensive ability. Being paired with a player like McDonagh who is very responsible yet who also encourages offensive opportunity, would have made for an offensively dangerous, yet defensively effective top pair.

Alain Vigneault experimented with the pairing early in the year, but after the Ranger’s slow start, he quickly labeled it as a part of the problem and shuffled the defense around.

Shattenkirk has been paired with Brady Skjei, which is by no means a bad fit. It is, however, a dangerous situation for his young defensive counterpart. 

With McDonagh out of the lineup for the past few games, there are obviously deep-rooted problems with the defensive deployment. But despite an unsteady structure at the moment, Vigneault has shown he can’t determine what is best for his team.

He has not effectively used the assets he has available and this is something that needs to change — otherwise, the Rangers inconsistency will continue.