When the New York Rangers acquired Pavel Dorofeyev, they had visions of a 40-goal scorer dancing in their heads.
Well, that vision hasn’t quite come to fruition just yet.
Make no mistake, Dorofeyev is off to a strong start. He’s got a goal and an assist in four games so far. The Rangers are 3-1, so there’s no cause for concern, at least not yet.
While Dorofeyev has looked good out there, the bottom line is that he could do better.
At the moment, the team’s leading scorer is Eeli Tolvanen, a guy the Rangers didn’t expect to have three goals in four games to start the season. That’s certainly more than the Blueshirts bargained for. But it’s not something that should last the entire season.
As it stands, Dorofeyev is the team’s most talented scorer. And that’s why the expectation is that he will live up to the hype and his contract.
Pavel Dorofeyev may just need some time
It’s worth pointing out that Pavel Dorofeyev may just need some time to adjust to life with the New York Rangers. He found success in Vegas with players like Jack Eichel on his line. Eichel is not in New York, much to the Chagrin of Rangers fans, and, well, there is a clear adjustment period.
The challenge will be to determine how long that period should last.
If it’s just a half-dozen games, no problem. Fans expect that sort of thing. But if it takes more than a month to really see Dorofeyev find his scoring touch in New York, Rangers fans may become just a little too antsy about the situation.
Then again, with the club playing well, there’s no immediate need to panic.
Rangers season will depend on scoring goals
Ultimately, the New York Rangers’ season will depend on the team scoring goals. We’ve already seen how well the team can play defensively.
But it’s that Opening Night loss that’s the most concerning. The Rangers lost 3-0 to the Boston Bruins, a game in which they were in it right down to the end. And if that’s going to be the story for this season, the panic index could shoot through the roof.
We know the Rangers can play well enough defensively. Igor Shesterkin should steal his share of games. The situation will become a problem if the team can’t score.
Dorofeyev is part of the solution to that problem. And when he picks up steam, the Blueshirts will be better off for it.
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