New York Rangers: Day by day

The New York Rangers played two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference over the past three days.  What came out of those two contests is so much more than one win and one beating.

The New York Rangers wrapped up their five game home stand this week by welcoming two of the elite squads in the Eastern Conference to Madison Square Garden. They faced last year’s Stanley Cup Finalist Boston Bruins and the President’s Trophy winning Tampa Bay Lightning.  Both teams figure to be at or near the top of the standings again this year.

It would be a tall order for the young Blueshirts, facing the NHLs elite in back to back games. But after dispatching the very hot out of the gate Buffalo Sabres last week in one of the most complete games the squad has played this year, it was a challenge to be taken on with gusto.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, the Boston Bruins are freaking really good. You have to imagine that no other team in the league plays a game that David Quinn envies more.  They are big, strong, skilled and play with a snarl.  They compete all over the ice.

Every NHL fan is aware the Brad Marchand combines high end skill with “walk the line” intangibles. He is the Bobby Clarke of this generation. He plays without fear (who wouldn’t with Zdeno Chara backing you up) and with two very talented line mates.  Together with David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron, the three form arguably the very best top line in all of hockey.

And the Rangers stood no chance against them.

Bad enough that Jesper Fast was a last minute subtraction from the line-up, but once Bergeron took out Mika Zibanejad with a clean hit midway through the first period the fate of the Blueshirts was sealed.  Despite leading 1-0 after the first period, when Zibanejad did not take the ice for the second period, it was just a matter of time.

The loss of the Rangers first line center clearly deflated the team, and the Bruins top line wasted no time…11 seconds…taking advantage.  From that point forward it was a complete and total beat-down.

Jacob Trouba played his worst game as a Ranger, getting beat along the boards for the Bruins first goal and muscled off the puck later in the game for another. Libor Hajek played his worst game as well, going minus four on the night. Kappo Kakko did not look like he belonged on the ice against the Bruins.  Henrik Lundqvist lost his cool, thus his focus, and the end result was an embarrassment.

For Ranger fans, watching the Bruins game was painful.  I got several text messages during the game stating Quinn should be fired, or would not last the year, that he is not the guy to build this team. I tend to think that those texts came from friends who had been watching NFL football and drinking all day Sunday, but the frustration was clear regardless of BAC (blood alcohol content) levels.

But here is why they are so wrong. This Bruins game, bad as it was, offered David Quinn the perfect coaching opportunity for his young team.  They were schooled by a squad that Quinn wants to emulate, and he now he has a lesson in hand, and on tape. That is more valuable than a W would have been.

What is coaching?  The ability to teach and to lead.  To teach you need lessons, this Bruins game will be one of the greatest lessons this young Rangers teams receives this year. While excuses for the team’s performance are readily available, no Fast, no Zibanejad, you have to know David Quinn had none of that.  Instead he took the game and turned it into a learning opportunity.

Whatever he said to the team at the next practice certainly hit the mark because everything changed two days later when the Lightning came to town.

Bolted

Tuesday had to bring a sense of dread too many Rangers fans.  After the dismantling at the hands of the Bruins, the thought of facing the mighty Lightning in the next tilt was more than a bit unsettling. Things could easily spiral out of control at this point.

News that Filip Chytil was recalled to the big team offered a bit of a spark to the game but it also meant that clearly Mika Zibanejad was not going to play. Ryan Lindgren was also recalled but that raised more questions than offered answers. Although those questions were quickly answered when news that Marc Staal would be a healthy scratch for the first time in his career hit Twitter.

To make that situation just a bit more odd, the Rangers planned on honoring Staal’s long time defensive partner Dan Girardi before the game.  It was all a bit odd when Chris Kreider took the ceremonial puck drop for the Rangers with Ryan McDonagh there for Tampa.  It would have been a really nice moment if Staal had been there, but that turned out to be the only missed opportunity for the Rangers all night.

There was pace, there was intent and there was desire from the very start.  The Rangers came out with a purpose and never wilted.

Now, just to point out how delicate that balance of a hockey game can be, Jacob Trouba very easily could have been called for a penalty about 30 seconds into the game. If that penalty had been called it could have popped the Rangers balloon immediately and the game could have gone the same way the Bruins game went. But the whistle never blew, the game went on, and the Rangers got stronger and stronger as it did.

To start, there was Filip Chytil, looking like the missing link.  If he is not installed as the second line pivot once Zibanejad returns, and given every opportunity to succeed, then I may begin to send text messages about David Quinn myself.  Chytil looked great, he was visible every shift and made a difference all over the ice. His goal was the product of hard work.

Chytil’s play seemed to ignite something in Kappo Kakko as well.  The 18-year-old must have looked at Chytil and realized that there is nothing to fear if you just play your game.  Kakko was active, physical, and controlled the puck for long stretches at times.  Sure he should have taken a shot, or moved the puck a hair quicker, but the purpose was there. The conviction was there. It was his best game of the young season by far.

Ryan Lindgren did not look out-of-place, and his beautiful pass up the boards to Chris Kreider was the catalyst to the Rangers third goal.  The goal was scored by Adam Fox, the first of his NHL career, and it was a punctuation to his best game of the year as well.

Alexandar Georgiev was nothing less than outstanding.  He’s officially a number one pick waiting to happen. That number one pick could be in the 2020 draft, or he could already be playing in the NHL, but make no mistake, that is what he is worth on the open market.

The game was rough and not for the faint of heart, it was the type of game David Quinn has been yearning for from his squad.

By the time Ryan Strome was potting the empty netter to really seal the deal every Rangers fan had to be breathing a sigh of relief.  But were we also not thinking of greater things as well.  This is the type of performance that would get the Rangers to the playoffs.

Rest assured that David Quinn undoubtedly has the tape of the Bruins game cued up and ready to go at the next practice, because although it was a scintillating victory, it needs to be tempered with the pains of growth. The lessons will continue.

Up Next

So where are we now fans?

It’s a bit like the old saying about the weather where I live.  If you don’t like it, just wait five minutes and it will change. This Rangers team will still have those dark and stormy nights like last Sunday against the Bruins, but wait a game….or two…and the sun will come out again.

It’s just part of the process, which if you look at in the context of these last two games, is a process that is working.  Let’s take the good with the bad and enjoy the ride, not so much concerned about when we will get there, but enjoying each and every sight along the way.