Three things the New York Rangers will want as presents for Christmas
Who doesn't enjoy the holiday season? As we get closer to Christmas with each passing day, we move closer to a day when billions of people will be opening gifts and presents they had wanted, given to them by Santa. As everyone here at Blue Line Station hopes you got exactly what you were after this holiday season, what could the New York Rangers organization be looking for in their gifts?
This season has started very well for the New York Rangers, who currently sit six points clear at the top of the Metropolitan Division standings. With long winning streaks, success at the Garden, and one of the best redemption stories of the year in the return to form of Jonathan Quick, New York has had a lot to feel good about in the hockey world. So, what more could the Blueshirts be after to improve their season?
We've seen some of the more established members of this Blueshirts core struggle to get to their best performances at this point. There's room for improvements and strengthening of this roster that still ranks among the best in the NHL at this moment in time. While this won't happen overnight, the Rangers may be able to fix some of these things themselves over the coming week before the big day.
There's nothing urgent that needs improving. This is what needs to change if the Blueshirts are going to be the unanimous best team in the NHL. These are going to be cherry-picked. It was a little bit like looking for a pimple on Miss America. It just didn't seem like there was anything major wrong until the recent drop in success. This just refers to the games against Toronto, Washington, and Ottawa. If it seems like there is a little bit of recency bias here, it's just because this has been the most difficult spell of the season.
Igor Shesterkin's Performances
It's really strangle to be in a world where Igor Shesterkin has been underperforming. Yet, here we are. Shesterkin has played in 18 games this season, putting up a measly .904 save percentage and a 2.91 goals against average. He's not been the world-beating Igor Shesterkin we've all come to know and love. In fact, he's been league average. This has not been a season to remember for the former Vezina Trophy winner.
Igor missed a few games earlier in the season after being injured in the game against the Carolina Hurricanes when Jesperi Kotkaniemi collided with the Russian netminder, but when he has played, he hasn't looked like the goaltender that the Rangers have relied on in the last few seasons. Perhaps the rust from the start of the season complied with the injury shook him enough to create this kind of chaos in his game, but it is certainly been a cause for concern.
New York Rangers goaltending maestro Benoit Allaire will be working with Shesterkin to try and get him back to the best version we all got to enjoy when he had a historic season two years ago. Even if we saw the Shesterkin that was very strong last season but not the world-destroyer we saw two seasons ago, it could make this Rangers team a different level of good heading into the Christmas break.
As a fanbase, we have been blessed with a string of elite goaltenders over the years. From Mike Richter to Henrik Lundqvist to now Igor Shesterkin. We've been lucky enough to see some of the best goalies in NHL history come to this city and enjoy winning with this team. If Igor can get back to that kind of player, destroying worlds and dominating the league like he was doing, this Rangers team will be so much stronger.
Return of Ryan Lindgren
One of the more quiet strugglers of the season, Ryan Lindgren has not been the typical shutdown defenseman he has been for the Blueshirts during his career. Since arriving in New York as a piece of the Rick Nash trade, Lindgren has been one of the most reliable defensemen the Rangers have had, often partnering Adam Fox on the Rangers top pairing to provide a little bit more defensive stability to the offensive firepower Fox provides.
This year, Lindgren has had to spend 10 games away from the former Norris Trophy winner, and despite Erik Gustafsson doing a great job filling the large shoes of Fox, Lindgren hasn't found his footing yet almost 30 games into the season. It's a concern that the best defenseman the Rangers have in their own end is struggling because it makes the team vulnerable to comebacks late in games, such as we saw against the San Jose Sharks.
Lindgren's production is also way down. Through 29 games, he has just a single goal and a single assist. Now, Ryan Lindgren is many things, but an offensive dynamo he is not. His career high is just 18 points, so seeing a low total next to his name isn't unreasonable. But he's on pace for 5 points. If you want to be kind, we can say 6 points since it's 5.655, but it's still way less than you would expect from Adam Fox's defensive partner.
Plus minus is not a good stat. In the past, I've spoken at length about the issues of trying to use it as a measure of someones defensive quality. However, Ryan Lindgren plays in the top four with Fox and he gets all this ice time, averaging more than 18 minutes a night. He's got a plus minus of zero. He's a net neutral on the ice, which is not what the Rangers need from him. Could it be worse? Yes, but the Rangers need Lindgren to start looking like Lindgren. He's also gotten lit up a few times recently which is concerning given his injury history.
Stay healthy
Part of what makes the Rangers early season success so impressive is what they have been missing during their victories. Several key members of the roster have missed significant game time already this season. I mentioned Igor Shesterkin missed a handful of games, but Adam Fox also missed 10 after he suffered a knee injury in that same game against the Carolina Hurricanes when he collided with Sebastian Aho.
Filip Chytil was also injured in that game when he tried to lay a hit on former Ranger Jesper Fast, but ended up getting the worst of it. He's been out since with an upper-body injury that is suspected to be a concussion. Whether or not that is true, he's only played 10 games this season and he still sits on the long-term injured reserve or LTIR. He's skated a few times, but there are conversations regarding his ability to return at all this year, which is concerning in its own right.
Kaapo Kakko suffered a lower body injury when he collided awkwardly with the end boards. He had to be helped off the ice, and he was also placed on LTIR. He is expected to return before the conclusion of the regular season, but it again shows you that four key members of this roster have missed significant time already this season, and the Rangers have managed to find success regardless of their absentees.
When you then factor in other players missing games like K'Andre Miller, Barclay Goodrow, Jonathan Quick, Jimmy Vesey and Nick Bonino, the sheer number of man games lost is starting to build. If the Rangers can find a way to keep the players on the ice, they will have a shot at winning trophies and titles in both the regular season and in the playoffs. But they need to stay on the ice because the parade to the infirmary will be their demise.