New York Rangers: The effective bash brothers have a future

After Monday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, the New York Rangers are clearly not going to go down without a bite.

For much of Alain Vigneault’s tenure as head coach of the New York Rangers, the team was discouraged from engaging with the other team in after the whistle shenanigans. To some degree, this was an effective practice, if a team doesn’t engage at all, it can’t be called for penalties and officials are more inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt.

However, at the same time, such a rigid sense of discipline leads to a team that plays without passion or fire. Sometimes, if the opposition was really pushing the Rangers’ buttons it felt like a mugging. It’s one thing for New York to lose 4-2 in a hard fought game, but to get physically bullied around and lose 4-2 is totally different.

This was the case for much of the Rangers season last year, especially after the trade deadline. The team simply lacked the will to compete most nights and the players would just allow each other to get hit and not do anything about it.

While David Quinn’s Rangers haven’t fared much better in the standings, this team has a collective never say die attitude. No matter how far New York may be out of the game on the scoreboard, the mentality and heart of the players keep them in the mix.

It’s not the 1980s anymore and the traditional enforcer is an antiquated concept in a salary cap sport. Every last bit of cap space is too valuable to feature a player that cannot provide some offensive upside. The NHL is speed and skill based league which makes players like Tanner Glass or Cody McLeod inefficient.

It’s the cold hard truth, but those types of players cannot keep up with the style of today’s game. In their place are guys that can make plays with the puck and aren’t afraid to either get into a fracas or under the skin of their opposition.

This is why players like Tony DeAngelo and Brendan Lemieux retain value. Granted, the sample size for both players is considerably small. But since the son of Claude joined the Rangers as part of the return for Kevin Hayes, he and DeAngelo have formed a tandem that’s not afraid to stand up for themselves or their teammates.

Hockey is a game of emotions and heart if the player next to you runs into a scrum because you got hit into the boards, that resonates with you. On Monday against the New Jersey Devils, both Lemieux and DeAngelo were in the mix for their teammates. In a totally meaningless April game between two teams eliminated from the playoffs, it would’ve been easy to just roll over.

Yet, the bash brothers both answered the bell when called upon. While neither is particularly big, both stood up to larger players and won their respective fights.

On top of being able to serve as physical presences, they are both effective hockey players.

DeAngelo is one of the most effective defensemen in the entire league at successfully entering or exiting the zone. While he still has work to do when it comes to holding his own blue line, DeAngelo’s sophomore season has ingrained him as a piece of the team’s future for the long-term.

As for Lemieux, the sample size as a Ranger is pretty small, but it’s clear how much he’s changed the complexion of the group. There is a closer feel to this team since his arrival and his willingness to get punched in the face for his teammates is part of the reason.

During the course of a rebuilding season, it’s the little things like the growth of personalities and willingness to keep fighting in spite of a bad situation. No team wants to lose, so standing up and fighting back can alleviate some of that problem no matter the final result.