New York Rangers: Playing out the season like a professional
The fan addressed letter from the Rangers front office February eighth spurred the team alive. Even if the effect wears off, there is a certain level of expectation.
The kick in the butt that was the open letter to Rangerstown last week came at as the season reached a critical mass. As an organization, the Rangers were reeling and had no signs of life for the better part of a month. At one point the ugliness got to a point where the team had just three regulation wins in 20 games.
Following the release of the letter, the team rattled off a pair of victories against teams from western Canada. Friday’s game against the Flames was Henrik Lundqvist at his absolute best. The Rangers lone all-star this season skated onto the ice after an injury to Ondrej Pavelec and stood on his head. Sunday afternoon, Brady Skjei and Neal Pionk were the Rangers top defensive pair in the win over Winnipeg.
Those two wins have the Rangers sitting just four points out of the second wild card spot in an absolutely bonkers Metropolitan Division. The team may carry over this momentum from the letter or they may go back to struggling. However, for the remainder of the season, there needs to be learning and experimenting.
There are established veterans in the dressing room who will survive this trade deadline. Those guys in the room took exception to the front office waiving the white flag and the team promptly delivered two inspired performances. The players showed a level of resolve that comes with playing in the NHL.
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“I’m playing for the guys in the room, I’m playing for the Ranger logo and I’m playing for the fans who spend their money to watch us,” Rick Nash said last Friday. Even if Nash does not survive the trade deadline, the remaining players would be wise to the veteran’s words to heart.
The Fans
Ultimately, the fans are the entity that makes the NHL go round more than anything else. The smug fan yelling from the blue seats about paying the player’s salary is for once correct. That what was so disheartening about the past month or so of Rangers hockey. During the February 7th matchup against the Bruins, Madison Square Garden was empty by the halfway point of the third period.
The sparsely filled arena looked like the few poor souls that remained thought they were at a preseason game. Things were so bad those who were still there didn’t care enough to boo. The crowd does play a factor in terms of team morale. If the fans stop showing up, the team’s fragile morale will continue to dip.
Playing in a half empty arena and having your best players sold off for future assets is a bad combination for a healthy learning environment. The team should not make the mistake of deluding themselves into thinking they’re a playoff team and trying to hold on. The tough Metropolitan division makes a happy medium of the situation possible.
It’s learning time kids!
The Rangers’ best case scenario in terms of success for the rest of the season would be outcomes like Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Wild. The Rangers young players played well in a substantial amount of ice time, even though they lost. This is the best way to blend together potential players for next year and those who are locked into their spots.
The top pair of Skjei and Pionk was a delight to watch and a foreshadowing of things to come. The team will need a total overhaul of the defense if they want to be successful next year. Both of the Minnesota natives are silky smooth skaters with confidence on the puck. It is not a coincidence that the Rangers played two of their best games in recent memory without Marc Staal and Brendan Smith.
Going forward it should be the Rangers top priority to focus all of their efforts into getting Pionk, John Gilmour, Vinni Lettieri, Tony DeAngelo as much experience as possible. Should the young skaters prove they are capable, all of them could make the NHL roster next season. In the case of a full rebuild and a lost season next year, they will be the ones bearing the burden.
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The rest of this season will be difficult for fans to watch and the playoffs chances are pretty much non-existent. That does not mean the team on the ice should just roll over and die though. Since there is ample opportunity for a constructive final 25 games the team should take advantage.