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| Photo by: avigerver |
Following last night’s
game to close out the Rangers schedule prior to the All-Star break the team optioned
down five players to the Connecticut Whale.
All of the players sent down came up to fill spots vacated by the myriad
of injuries to the NHL roster. One
player noticeably absent from the list of those heading back to the AHL was
Mats Zuccarello. It is no surprise that
Zuccarello was not on the list, but as much as head coach John Tortorella tries
to skate the question, him not being there was a statement on Zuccarello being
here to stay. When all the missing
forwards return to full healthy Zuccarello has earned his place to be in this
lineup every night.
It has only been 17
games in the NHL, but he has proven he belongs and that he brings elements to
the Rangers they do not have without him.
There is the obvious of his shootout expertise, in which he is a perfect
4-for-4, but even that is a symbol of something larger. Possibly the most important characteristic
that Zuccarello brings to the Rangers is a swagger the team does not have
enough of as a unit. It is that swagger
that allowed Zuccarello to take a penalty shot in his NHL debut like he had
been doing it for years at this level.
It is that swagger that allows him the confidence to employ the same
exact move on all of his shootout attempts without a thought to trying a
different one until someone shows they can stop it.
Obviously to go with
that confidence and swagger one must have the skill to deliver and he certainly
has the goods. Zuccarello is a
combination of vision, speed, passing ability, grit, finish and creativity that
have made all who have played with him better.
Those skills were on display last night as he had a career high three
assists to boost his season totals to 3-8-11 in those 17 games.
On a team that lacks
creativity, high level talent, and swagger Zuccarello is the perfect mix for
this Rangers club and the fact he has proven he can perform at the NHL level
has made him a critical piece to the team’s hopes this season. There will be
debate in the coming weeks as players begin to return from injury as to exactly
where Zuccarello fits in the lineup, but there shall be no debate whether or
not he does have a place.
Even with his
activation, mentally I am discounting anything significant from Vinny Prospal
this season, but for the sake of this exercise let us assume he comes back. If Prospal does come back we can safely
assume he will get an opportunity to try and spark last year’s success with
Marian Gaborik again. I see the two most
successful lines for the team over the course of the season being reunited when
healthy. For me that leaves Stepan, Avery, Gaborik,
Prospal, Wolski, Zuccarello as the other six forwards with Drury and
Christensen both other outside looking in.
To me those lines set up beautifully for the Rangers as Wolski, Stepan,
Zuccarello played very well together and Avery, Prospal, Gaborik should work
well as all have had chemistry with one another.
If the Rangers make
the decision to role four lines they will have depth that rivals any team in the
NHL. Ignoring the order, if possible, I would roll these four lines and look to
keep the even strength minutes pretty even at roughly 12 minutes per line.
Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan
Avery-Prospal-Gaborik
Wolski-Stepan-Zuccarello
Fedotenko-Boyle-Prust
Players like
Dubinsky, Callahan, Boyle, Prust will get an addition 3 minutes a game killing
penalties. Dubinsky and Callahan along
with Gaborik, Prospal, Zuccarello, Wolski, Stepan will also get additional
minutes on the power play unit. These
lines are deep enough and even enough that having most of the forwards playing
between 12 and 18 minutes a night will not be a hindrance to the on ice results
game-to-game and it should keep everyone involved fresh for the stretch and
playoff run. A run that Zuccarello will
be instrumental in helping them make.
