New York Rangers: Five Rangers who need the All-Star break
The New York Rangers are currently in a free-fall. The team is currently sitting outside of a playoff spot, with a record of 24-20-5. The team desperately needs time off to regroup for the stretch run.
The New York Rangers are an absolute mess of a hockey team. They have three regulation wins in their last 16 games, and six total wins in that span. They are being badly outshot and outplayed on a nightly basis. The only reason they aren’t a lottery team is the Vezina-caliber play of Henrik Lundqvist.
In the grand scheme of things, a few days off may not be of much help. The team had their league-mandated bye week just two weeks ago and it seemed to hurt the team more than it helped. The Rangers came off their break and were stomped by the Islanders 7-2 on home ice.
At this point, a few days off will give the coaching staff some time to reassess things and maybe change things up. The team needs some time to get away from everything, and the fans could use a mental break from them. Here are five players who need the All-Star break to come, very badly.
Henrik Lundqvist
Henrik Lundqvist needs the All-Star break, or he might drop from sheer exhaustion. Now, this has nothing to do with his play. He has been the best player on the team by far. The team has no business being even close to a playoff spot, but Lundqvist has dragged them here.
So far this season, he is on pace to play 70 games, which is way too many for a soon-to-be 36 year old goaltender. Plus, since he is an All-Star, he won’t even be getting rest during the break. To date, he has posted a 21-13-4 record, along with a 2.61 goals-against-average and a .922 save percentage. He is far and away the team’s MVP, will almost certainly be a Vezina nominee, and could even be a Hart Trophy nominee.
The reason Lundqvist needs this break is to get away from the team in front of him. Every single night, the team breaks down in front of him and depends on him to bail them out. He gets absolutely no support from his team. How he hasn’t snapped on this team and coaching staff is an outright miracle.
Hopefully, for the six day break, Lundqvist can forget that he is on the worst shot-differential team in the league, before he has to come back and face the reality of it.
Ryan McDonagh
This has been an uncharacteristically down season for Ryan McDonagh. He finally recorded his first goal of the season on Thursday night against the Sharks but his overall game has been lacking. His usual steady defensive presence, end-to-end speed, and his positioning have all been noticeably absent.
Now, anybody paired with Nick Holden is sure to have a rough go of things. Being paired with a defensive liability has never slowed down the Rangers captain in the past, but this year he has had to bear a lot of responsibility.But the New York Rangers’ captain has repeatedly proven in the past that being paired with an anchor doesn’t slow him down that much. The sad thing is, Holden is an upgrade over his partner from last season, Dan Girardi.
But, there is the possibility that he is playing through a nagging injury. At multiple points this season McDonagh has missed games with ailments like back spasms and a groin pull. Given how the Rangers’ medical staff allowed Kevin Shattenkirk to play for months on a torn meniscus, it wouldn’t be all that surprising.
Plus, the rumors about him possibly being traded surely aren’t making it any easier for him. McDonagh needs to take the break to relax, try to heal any nagging injury, and come back true to form.
Kevin Hayes
Kevin Hayes has fully embraced his role as a shutdown center this season. While this has taken a bit of a toll on his offensive production, he has done an outstanding job of matching up against other teams’ top lines. He currently has 18 points through 43 games, but the offensive creativity is still there.
Hayes has fully transitioned into a dependable two-way center. He kills penalties, and has started 58.3% of his shifts in the defensive zone. These past two years, Hayes has been molded into a replacement for Derek Stepan. This is a drastic change from his first two seasons in which he started over 60% of the time in the offensive zone.
The reason that Kevin Hayes needs the All-Star break is because he is nursing a nagging injury. He has missed the last five games with a lower-body injury, and the Rangers’ center depth is badly depleted without him. The center did play well on Thursday night against the Sharks, but a few days off will help him get ready for the final 30 or so games of the season.
Brendan Smith
Brendan Smith has had a really rough season so far. After a stellar few months and playoff run last season, the Rangers inked him to a four year contract. So far, it hasn’t gone well. He’s been bounced in and out of the lineup for extended stretches.
He’s looked absolutely lost with the puck on his stick for most of the season. The defenseman has been a far cry from what he was last season, he is frequently caught watching the puck and is out of position.
The New York Rangers need him to turn it around, otherwise that four year contract looks like an awful signing. He needs to turn himself around and be the player that he was post-trade deadline last season.
Hopefully, a little break from hockey refreshes Smith, and he comes back stronger and better than he’s been. If he doesn’t, if this is what he is and last year was a mirage, the Rangers will severely regret signing him long-term.
J.T. Miller
J.T. Miller is a player who could use a break for a variety of reasons. He is third on the team with 29 points, but his game has been lacking as of late. He is a good offensive player, but his underlying numbers are concerning.
As you can see here, almost all of Miller’s stats here have drastically plummeted. His goals per 60, 0.74 last season, has dropped to 0.27. During his tenure with the Rangers he has never been a strong shot generator and this year his number have dived which has stalled his production.
Now, this isn’t to say J.T. Miller is a bad player, not in the slightest. He is extremely versatile, being able to play center or wing, and he is a very good passer. He is also one of the best players on the team at gaining the offensive zone.
Miller is still prone to making careless, blind passes sometimes. This was especially evident on Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks, where he had several egregious turnovers, one of which led to a shorthanded goal for Anaheim. This culminated in him being benched for most of the game, which in the grand scheme of things hurt the team. The Rangers handicapped themselves by punishing one of their best players when they desperately needed a goal.
Now, the Rangers should not bet on Miller long term because as good and well-liked a player as he is, his production looks unsustainable.
Miller is a good player right now, but he could use a break. It doesn’t help matters that Alain Vigneault has never seemed to be a huge fan of him but he could use a few days off to hopefully forget about the other night and come back fresh.
Next: New York Rangers: Why missing the playoffs isn’t a bad thing
As hard as this is to say, the Rangers simply aren’t a good team. If it weren’t for Henrik Lundqvist being Henrik Lundqvist, the team would almost assuredly be at the bottom of the league standings.
These players need a break badly, either to get some rest and clear their heads or heal any nagging injuries. Hopefully they’re able to do that, and come back stronger.