New York Rangers: Five thoughts after five games

After a very long wait, the New York Rangers finally got back to business on January 14, with a season opening game against the hated New York Islanders.  And that is all that will be said about that.

Now, after five games have been played, what are some things that have stood out, good or bad about the team?  What can Ranger fans take away from the team’s performance  after such a small sample of games?

First Thought

K’Andre Miller is impressive.  Not sure any Ranger fan thought this kid would come out and play as well as he has played.  As a matter of fact it’s more likely that most fans thought that he would sooner be in street clothes than playing 20+ minutes a game.

Sure his first game was almost brutally bad.  He just looked like a deer in headlights, but who can blame him?  What’s is incredibly impressive is how quickly that changed in his second game.  By the fourth game, he looked very comfortable on the ice and was making defensive plays that were simply impressive.  Against the Penguins on Sunday night, he may have been the most impressive D-man on the ice.

His size and skating ability are something you can’t ignore.  His ability to break up plays with his long reach and stick skills are clearly a major asset.  He moves the puck very well and his long strides when skating up on the ice on a rush should make every Ranger fan giddy about this kid’s future.

Physically, he still looks very young.  But imagine him in a year or two, playing with a little more bulk and confidence.  NHL players who come to the league from the college ranks tend to be less physical than those that come from the Canadian Junior Leagues.  What Ranger fans can only hope is that Miller becomes a physically dominating force on the back end in the mold of Zdeno Chara or Victor Hedman.  If that happens, then look out.

Second Thought

Speaking of physical play; where is it?  Have we seen one big check thrown by a Ranger player in the first five games?  The game Sunday night had a bit more physical play than the previous four games, but overall it is still lacking.

Maybe the players are just easing into the new season and everyone understands that players across the league need a week or two to really get into game shape and handle the more physical aspect of the game, but boy it sure looks like flag football out there.

It has been on more that a few occasions where even my 14 year-old daughter has said, “He should have crushed him there”.

Maybe it’s the fear of taking a penalty, maybe it’s just the direction the game is headed in general, but one thing is for sure, a good old-fashioned body check has been hard to find.

Most likely things will change, and the physical play will heat up as the season progresses…hopefully.

Third Thought

The kids are alright.

Going into this season many folks were focused on Filip Chytil as the one player on the Rangers who really needed to step up in what is essentially his third year in the NHL.  The team is in real need of top tier centers and the former first round pick made decent strides last year in getting to that level.

His pairing with Kaapo Kakko is now turning into something special, and eventually could turn into something dynamic.  Having these kids anchor a third line is the key to the Rangers being able to compete in the brutal Eastern Division this season. For all the juggling that David Quinn does this seems like the two players who need to stay together now and for the long term benefit of the team.

Let’s hope the news is nothing but positive for Chytil after leaving the game with an upper body injury Sunday night.

Alexis Lafrenière is getting there. He certainly is a little more visible on the ice playing his natural left side.  What appears to be most obvious is the need to adjust to the speed of the game.  Not just from a skating perspective but more so from the decision making standpoint.  Shooting or passing just a click faster will make all the difference.  But you can see the talent.

We already addressed K’Andre Miller, but both Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren are both off to strong starts.  Let’s forget about the own-goal by Lindgren and focus on the fact that the defense is already looking better than it did much of last year.

Fourth Thought

While the defense is holding their own for the most part, the new goalie tandem simply is not. The post Henrik Lundqvist era is off to an inauspicious start.

Aside from a very solid effort in game two from Alexandar Georgiev the Rangers just have not been able to count on their goaltenders for the big save when it is needed.  This above all else should be what concerns Ranger fans. Instead of being the solid rock on which the team is set upon, the goaltending has been somewhat soft.

Goalies need confidence and it sure looks like Igor Shesterkin has lost a little bit since last year.  Given there have been several goals scored that he had no chance to save, but there have been almost as many that he should have saved, or could have and didn’t.  The soft goal over his shoulder last night is an example.

Also, does Igor have a five-hole problem?

Whatever the case, this would appear to be the one area where the Ranger will undoubtedly get better.  Expect Shesterkin to pick up his game and when he does he will hopefully steal a couple of games all by himself.

Fifth Thought

Ryan Strome….come in Ryan Strome…..

Look, there is no way this slow start can continue but one has to try to come grips with what has happened to Ryan Strome in these first five games.  Yes, he did pick up a dirty goal last night and hopefully that is the spark that gets his game going but overall he has been completely AWOL.

Maybe he just misses having someone one the right wing who does all the dirty work.  Maybe he has a nagging injury issue that he is trying to play through.  Whatever the reason, Strome has got to figure it out pretty quick if the Rangers are to get going this season.

It’s easy enough to say that the solution is just to bring Filip Chytil up to center the second line, but if you do that, then don’t you also have to bring Kakko with him?  That would certainly be an entertaining option for the Rangers, but it would also put them into a very top heavy rotation that is something the team should really be looking to avoid.

Perhaps the answer is to bring Brett Howden up to center the unit with Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich.  Howden has been looking pretty good so far and maybe playing with the higher end talent is warranted. Move Strome down to the fourth line until he figures it out.

That may not be all that bad of an idea as it further opens up the possibility of moving Strome at the trade deadline.  But if he doesn’t perform, what value will he have anyway?

The Rangers signed Strome based on a singular reason; his ability to play with Panarin.  The team is giving  Strome the opportunity to prove that last year was not a fluke, but so far, after five games, the Rangers decision to spend $4.5 million on him is not adding up.