No time for the New York Rangers to experiment this season

Chemistry is a key factor for the New York Rangers and any NHL team.  It means the difference between offensive explosions and scoring futility. Whether it was the “GAG line” the “Legion of Doom” or the “French Connection,” having three linemates that click can go a long way towards making the playoffs.

The Rangers go into this season with some lineup uncertainty.   They are still looking for a right winger to play on one of their top two lines and who they choose to fill that role could have a ripple effect throughout the rest of the lineup.  The defense is pretty much set, but the forward lines are uncomfortably up in the air.

It’s no mystery that Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider are joined at the hip and the one downside of letting Ryan Strome leave was his affinity for playing with Artemi Panarin.

The one line that has developed chemistry in all three positions has been Kid Line and that line is a distinct possibility to be broken up when the season starts.  Kaapo Kakko has played well on the top line and it appears he may have won a job there.  In the final preseason game, Barclay Goodrow moved up to the Chytil line and that seemed to work.

We still don’t know who will line up to the right of Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.  Though Vitali Kravtsov came to camp with the inside track, no one they have tried has clicked.  To make matters worse, Panarin and Trocheck haven’t had a chance to develop any chemistry.

In a perfect world, the team will take the first few weeks of the season to see which combinations have that chemistry. Unfortunately, in the modern NHL, that luxury doesn’t exist anymore.

A tight Metropolitan Division

Four teams from the Metropolitan Division will make the playoffs.  Of the eight teams in the Division, the only team that can probably be ruled out of playoff contention are the Philadelphia Flyers.  Of the teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season, the Blue Jackets and Devils have improved and the Islanders look to rebound from a bizarre season.

The Carolina Hurricanes still look to be the class of the Division. While the Capitals and Penguins stars are a year older, they are still formidable opponents and can be counted on to contend for a playoff spot.  The question is where the Rangers fall in this mix.

One thing is certain, last year was an aberration with 16 points separating the final playoff teams (Washington) from the closest competition (Islanders).   With the improvement in the Division, that just will not happen again.

While most hockey experts have the Rangers contending for first place in the Metropolitan Division, the analytics crowd is not convinced.  They see the lack of depth scoring and an overreliance on Igor Shesterkin to be flaws that could put the team in a dogfight to even make the playoffs.

If there is one fact about NHL hockey, it’s that teams need to get off to a good start.  Losing ground before Thanksgiving could be fatal in a highly competitive Metropolitan Division and no one is more aware of that than Gerard Gallant.

What it means

It’s easy to say that players should be given time to mesh.  Give Kravtsov or Julien Gauthier a chance to learn to play with Panarin and Trocheck.  Give Sammy Blais time as he is still coming back from his knee surgery and needs to get his timing back.   Try Alexis Lafreniere on the right side.

Unfortunately, the luxury of taking the time to work out the kinks in a lineup just doesn’t exist anymore. Look at the preseason.  We saw a steady procession of right-wingers playing on the top two lines and the only one who stuck was Kakko with Zibanejad and Kreider.  His tryout lasted all of two games.  He responded with three goals and appears to have won the job.

The Rangers were fortunate last season that Frank Vatrano found a home on the top line and Andrew Copp, acquired as the third-line center, ended up a right-wing with Strome and Panarin. That chemistry was immediate, something that hasn’t happened this preseason.

So, we will be looking at a steady progression of “tryouts” on the second and third lines with immediate success in the short-term answer.  Let’s hope they find some answers quickly.

The fallout from the loss to the Islanders

Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov was a one-man wrecking crew last night.  He knocked Sammy Blais out of the game with a big hit in the first period.  It was labeled an upper-body injury and after the game, Gerard Gallant said it wasn’t serious, but we’ve heard that before.

If Blais is not ready to go on Tuesday, it could affect roster decisions before the start of the season.

The Rangers dodged a bullet when Romanov hit Vincent Trocheck with what was called a charging penalty.

Sunday, Romanov was fined $5,000 by the NHL, the maximum allowable for the charge. Trocheck was lucky to avoid an injury from the hit during which Romanov clearly left his feet to make contact.

There’s no doubt that the coaches and management are meeting to discuss their final roster decisions. To complicate things, Sunday, the Rangers signed Jimmy Vesey to a one-year deal at the NHL minimum of $750k.

The Rangers also put Julien Gauthier and Jarred Tinordi on waivers.  Now we see how highly regarded Gauthier is by other general managers.  We should know who made the cut sometime before the 5 pm deadline on Monday.