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New York Rangers: Five takeaways from the Stanley Cup Playoffs (so far)

By Steve Paulus

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 16: Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Columbus Blue Jackets is congratulated by his teammates after Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 16, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus defeated Tampa Bay 7-3 to win the series 4-0. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 16: Sergei Bobrovsky #72 of the Columbus Blue Jackets is congratulated by his teammates after Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 16, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus defeated Tampa Bay 7-3 to win the series 4-0. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 05: Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers defends against Josh Anderson #77 of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period at Madison Square Garden on April 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 05: Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers defends against Josh Anderson #77 of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period at Madison Square Garden on April 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

#3 – Defense wins in the playoffs

If there is one obvious weakness on this Rangers team, it is defense.   The defense corps has gaping holes and the forwards are not defensively responsible.  Quinn knows this and addressed it in his comments after the season.

The key question moving forward is whether the Rangers defensemen are good enough.  On paper, the team has a good balance of offensive defenesmen (Skjei, Shattenkirk, Pionk and DeAngelo) and defensive defensemen (Hajek, Lindgren, Staal and Smith).  There has been a lot of chatter about signing Erik Karlsson or trading for Jacob Trouba.  The team may be better served looking to acquire a shutdown defenseman along the lines of a Dan Girardi in his prime.

As for defensive minded forwards, the Rangers best defensive forward is Mika Zibanejad.  The team should waste no time in naming him team captain to reinforce the message about defensive responsibility.

One reason for the opening round results was the ability of teams to shut down top scorers. Nikita Kucherov, Johnny Gaudreau and Sidney Crosby were goal-less.  Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel scored just once.  The Blues shut down Patrik Laine after he scored in each of their first three games as he was scoreless over the last three.  Sniper Mark Scheifele had only two goals in six games.

The old adage that a good defense beats a good offense is never more true than in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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