New York Rangers: Up and down value tracker 12-17
The New York Rangers have found themselves in limbo. After a poor October start followed by a better November, they are now a strange mix of the two. Sometimes they come out charging and other times they are downright listless.
The New York Rangers are a strange team this year. Their streakiness has sent them on a five-game losing streak and a six-game winning streak. In this past week alone, the Rangers came out lifeless against the Dallas Stars and the Ottawa Senators which resulted in a shootout loss and a regulation loss respectively. They then came out charging against the Kings resulting in a 4-2 win and played fairly well against the Bruins for a 3-2 OT win.
Some of the Rangers most important players have been streaky themselves. Ryan McDonagh, for example, started the week off with a terrible game against the Stars, but then played one of his best games all season against the Kings.
This is where this column comes in. Welcome to the first edition of Who’s Up, Who’s Down, where we look at the ups and downs of players, prospects, coaches etc in Rangerstown.
Up: Ondrej Pavelec
Although Ondrej Pavelec has not been quite as good as former backup Antti Raanta, he was solid in his one game played this week. In the shootout loss to the Dallas Stars, Pavelec stood tall and allowed only one goal on 45 shots and kept the Rangers in the game. Most people felt that he deserved a win for his outstanding performance but the offense simply could not put the puck in the net.
What Pavelec needs to do now is keep up this kind of play. Coach Alain Vigneault has shown that he does not trust him. With Saturday night’s game against the Boston Bruins being the second half of a back to back, Pavelec should be starting. However, Vigneault has decided to play Henrik Lundqvist for the second time in as many nights.
Henrik Lundqvist cannot play every single game and should especially not be starting both games of a back to back. While Lundqvist has been playing well this year, it is a long season. If the Rangers want to make the playoffs, they need both goalies to be playing well. And, if they want to go far in the playoffs, they need to rest Lundqvist now so he is not burnt out come the start of them.
Down: Brandon Halverson
Initially, promising goalie prospect Brandon Halverson has been having a down year. After playing most of 16-17 season in Hartford backing up Magnus Hellberg, he has been starting in the ECHL this season. In 16 games played, Halverson has a 5-7-2 record. His GAA is a poor 4.29 and has a save percentage of a mere .891. His most recent game played was an 8-4 loss to the Manchester Monarchs. The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a middle of the league team and are 11th in the league, so it isn’t like the whole team is bad and leaving him out to dry.
With a very small prospect pool, Halverson’s play is slightly concerning. While most people are relying on Russian phenom Igor Shestyorkin to take over when Henrik Lundqvist retires, it is unknown how well he will play in North America. Plus, Shestyorkin will still be under contract with SKA St. Petersburg until the 2018-2019 season. Even then it is unknown if he will be able to start in the NHL right away. One can only hope that Halverson’s play will pick up so the Rangers can have options outside of Shestyorkin and new prospect Alexander Georgiev.
Up: Ryan McDonagh
Ryan McDonagh may seem like a strange choice for an ‘up’ this week, but hear me out.
McDonagh played one of the worst games he’s played all season against the Dallas Stars. According to Natural Stat Trick, against the Stars, McDonagh came in with a 5-on-5 Corsi of -34. This is the second worst performance of any player since the 07-08 season. All around, he didn’t look like the steady defenseman we are familiar with.
However, he began to look better as the week went on. Against the Senators, his game improved. He did not look as lost as he had in the previous game.
Against the Kings, McDonagh came out flying and played one of his best games yet. He made a particularly impressive play on Kevin Hayes’ goal where he made the choice to get checked by two Kings players in order to pass Hayes the puck, a chance which he converted on. Then, against the Bruins, he had another strong game. He got another assist on a key goal to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead scored by J.T. Miller.
Something that could be affecting McDonagh’s play is a lingering injury. He missed 4 games due to an abdominal strain and it may still be affecting him. While we know that hockey players play through injuries all the time, this is not something you want to do for your captain and number one defenseman. If McDonagh is still injured, he should be rested now, before the Rangers attempt to make another run at the Cup.
Down: The Defense
With the defense struggling for most of the season, Vigneault has been doing his usual splitting up of pairings. The pairings have now consisted of Ryan McDonagh-Nick Holden, Brady Skjei-Kevin Shattenkirk, and Marc Staal-Brendan Smith.
Defensive breakdowns were the main reason for the loss to Ottawa. While this can be said for most goals against, in Ottawa the defense was all over the place, and not in a good way. Blown coverages and offensive players being allowed to simply walk into the zone is simple, not acceptable.
The pairing of Brendan Smith and Marc Staal have been particularly problematic.
While only on the ice for one goal against, the Senators were able to get high quality scoring chances with their blown coverages. Both did not know where the other was going to be and tried to cover the same guy multiple times.
The Skjei-Shattenkirk pairing was also plagued by these issues. Together, these two are very good in the offensive zone, but not as much in the defensive zone. And while Kevin Shattenkirk has come in as advertised, part of him is that he is not as good defensively as he is offensively. These issues could be fixed by reverting back to the Skjei-Smith pairing that worked extremely well in the playoffs, but it appears Vigneault does not want to split up the Skjei-Shattenkirk pairing.
However, against the Kings and the Bruins, the defense does appear to be getting stronger. This is probably because their number one defenseman in McDonagh has been playing better as well.
Up: Peter Holland
When it was announced that number one center Mika Zibanejad was out with a concussion, the Rangers realized how bare their center position was. In what was mostly considered a minor league deal, the Rangers may have found a center to bring up. Even after Zibanejad comes back.
A little under a month ago, the Rangers traded Adam Cracknell for Peter Holland. It was first unclear where Holland would be playing with the Rangers lack of depth, but he ultimately was sent to the Hartford Wolf Pack. Holland currently has 4 points in two games and has been a solid contributor so far this season with 18 points in 20 games.
Holland could be just what the Rangers need up front. If his strong play continues, he should be brought up to the Rangers, even when Zibanejad returns from injury. Holland could solve the issue of J.T. Miller being moved back to wing. The Rangers could sit or send down Paul Carey to make room for him at the NHL level.
Down: Alain Vigneault
Alain Vigneault has continued to prove that he is no longer the right fit for this team.
Through most of last season and all of this season, Alain Vigneault continues to make questionable coaching decisions. One thing Vigneault has continued to do is continuously start Henrik Lundqvist without any rests. Ondrej Pavelec played a fantastic game against the Dallas Stars and going back a bit further played just as well against the Penguins. Did Pavelec start off playing well this season? No. Was any of the roster playing that well at the beginning of the season? Also no.
Now that Pavelec’s play has been improving, he is showing he can be trusted to start more than the second half of a back to back. And, because of Vigneault’s mistrust of him, he isn’t even starting that. Even if Lundqvist is the hot hand, there is no reason for him to play both games of a back to back this early in the season.
Next: New York Rangers: Three players given up on too early
There is not much new about Alain Vigneault’s questionable at best coaching decisions. He continues to mismanage the team with the same results. What does need to happen however is his removal? The Cup window is closing. Unless Vigneault changes his ways, the Rangers are not going to see a championship anytime soon.