Blue Line Station
Fansided

New York Rangers: Storylines to watch out for in Second Round series against Hurricanes

By Andrew Steele-Davis

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 12: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers celebrates after becoming the fourth player in New York Rangers history to score 50 goals in a season in the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on April 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 12: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers celebrates after becoming the fourth player in New York Rangers history to score 50 goals in a season in the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on April 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 13: Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers talks with Adam Fox #23 during a stoppage in play in Game Six of the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on May 13, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 13: Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers talks with Adam Fox #23 during a stoppage in play in Game Six of the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on May 13, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

Back to full health

Ryan Lindgren proved how important he is to the Rangers by simply being out of the lineup during the First Round, missing Games Two, Three and Four with an undisclosed lower-body injury.

Lindgren’s absence collided with the Blueshirts collapsing like a cheap pack of cards in Games Three and Four, while Adam Fox was unable to be the best version of himself without his usual partner in-crime on the ice alongside him.

It was no surprise, then, that when the grizzled, hard-hitting defenseman did return, the Rangers became a lot tougher to beat and much more resilient on their way to erasing a 3-1 series deficit to advance to the Second Round.

And the best news for Ranger fans is that Lindgren should be operating at nearly 100 percent once this series gets underway against Carolina, having had a couple of days to rest the body fully.

It was clear that he was still banged up in the latter stages of the First Round, and the underlying metrics back that up with Fox and Lindgren having a 36.7 expected goals percentage with 19 high-danger chances against in 72:46 minutes of ice time together, per Natural Stat Trick.

Given that Lindgren should be good to go, you figure that those numbers will only get better as will the play of Fox, while a peak of his powers Lindgren will be key in trying to slow down the Hurricanes’ relentless forecheck and giving the Rangers an aggressive edge.

Another name to keep an eye on is Barclay Goodrow.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 29: Barclay Goodrow #21 of the New York Rangers controls the puck during the second period against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on April 29, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 29: Barclay Goodrow #21 of the New York Rangers controls the puck during the second period against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on April 29, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

The spark plug has been missing since Game One of the series against the Penguins with a suspected fractured foot or ankle, but the Rangers have teased that the forward could return at some point this series.

If that proves to be true, that will be a huge boost for Gerard Gallant’s team given that Goodrow is excellent on the forecheck, and he would be a dangerous weapon in combatting Carolina’s aggressive forecheck, while he’s also elite on the penalty kill, physical and he can be used up and down the lineup to provide a scoring punch.

Tyler Motte returned towards the end of Round One and made a sizeable impact and, if Goodrow can do the same, that would be huge for a Rangers team who will need all the help they can get against the Hurricanes.

There was a surprise in a Tweet from the Rangers today.  Sammy Blais was last seen in a game on November 14 when he was slewfooted by P.K. Subban.  Guess who was on the ice today with his teammates?

While a return in this round has to be a longshot, Blais brings 27 games of playoff experience, plus a Stanley Cup ring with the Blues in 2019.

Home/Analysis