The New York Rangers have arrived in their designated bubble city of Toronto, and it appears all things are a go for the puck to drop once again this Saturday.
I admit it, I was not a fan of the NHL trying to shoehorn the NHL playoffs into the summer while the country was in the midst of a raging pandemic. However it looks like the NHL has actually done something extraordinary….at least to this point….and that there will be a Stanley Cup tournament that includes the New York Rangers after all.
The NHL has obviously taken the correct approach here. Selecting two bubble cities in Canada and having a three month tournament that can most closely be compared to one of those youth hockey tournaments hosted in Buffalo or Ottawa every year. Play game, go to hotel….play game, go to hotel…repeat.
So it would seem that hockey players are perfectly suited for this type of environment and format, although not on such a grand scale. The mentality of the hockey is player is the perfect mentality for what the NHL has created. This is the greatest pee-wee tournament ever played. It’s the Silver Stick on steroids.
Compare that with the NBA bubble, where players just can’t quite figure out that strip clubs are not part of the bubble environment and the Major League Baseball experiment which already seems doomed to fail as games are being cancelled, teams can’t find places to play, and Covid-19 test results are not looking really good at this point.
That leaves the NHL leading the charge into the new sports world, so may as well get on board.
That being said, what do the New York Rangers need to succeed in the tournament? They have an embarrassment of riches in goal, they have a league MVP candidate on their SECOND line, and the hottest player in the league (when play was stopped) on their top line. Chris Kreider will be healthy and should be a playoff force to be reckoned with.
They don’t really have a fourth line of any consequence and that always seems like something a team needs in the playoffs. But that may not factor in as much this year as there will be not be fans in attendance for the fourth liners to fire-up with a big hit or hard working goal.
The defense has lots of offensive potential with Adam Fox and Tony DeAngelo leading the charge, but the back-end hasn’t quite reached top-tier levels on the defensive side just yet, so that may be something that holds them back.
That leaves the third line. And the third line is what will be the key to the Rangers success in the playoffs.
Line changes and match-ups are what make the difference in the playoffs. Especially when one team has an elite level line that can shut down the opposition. Think Bergeron and the Bruins.
But the Rangers already pose a threat to teams in that department because they have Line 1 and Line 1A. Teams will have to pick their poison as to which one they really want to shut down. After that they have to take their chances with the next line. That should really open the door for the Rangers third line to exploit the depth of the opposing teams.
Reports coming out of the Rangers summer training camp indicate that Kappo Kakko looks like a whole new player. We don’t need to analyze how or why, let’s just take in faith that he looks really good in camp.
If Filip Chytil can elevate his game to a new level, and then find a suitable left wing for him and Kakko to run with, it could make the Rangers a very dangerous team. It would be great to see Brendan Lemieux start the playoffs on the left wing with the kids but the two game suspension he will have to serve puts the brakes on that idea. You have to think he will get his chance sooner or later as he would add a sense of security for the talented Europeans. We just have to wait until game three for that to even be a possibility.
It will be an interesting decision for Coach Quinn to make, perhaps his toughest as we get closer to Saturday.
Yes Chytil and Kakko are young and yes they lack playoff experience, but this playoff experience will be unlike any other. If there was ever an environment that was suited to a young line of talented kids to succeed, these empty arenas would be it. They can focus on their game and only their game.
The puck drops just after noon on Saturday. Enjoy watching the artistry of Artemi Panarin again. Enjoy watching the explosive talent of Mika Zibanejad again. Enjoy watching Adam Fox create again. But to get a sense as to just how far the New York Rangers can go in this modified Stanley Cup playoff tournament, watch the third line very closely, they are the key to the Rangers prolonged success.