Taking A Step Back From The Ledge After Rangers Slow Start

At 0-1-2 with three subpar performances under their belt it is ok to be upset with the New York Rangers and how they have started the 2010-11 season.  However, the level at which some are sounding off and looking for a lifeboat is a little out there.  The bad news is that they have had three bad outings with way too many penalties, not enough offensive chances, have failed to establish a consistent forecheck in any game, the power play still doesn’t generate enough of a threat.  

All of those things are perfectly legitimate criticisms, but even with all of those things against two very good Western Conference teams they managed to get a point out of it and against an improving Islanders team they were in the game with a shot to win in the third period.   That for me is actually a positive because it is tough to imagine that they will continue to play this poorly for the next 79 games, thus the results should improve.  That brings me to the positive things out of the first three games that seem to get ignored because the final score is all that matters for some.

Henrik Lundqvist looks locked in as he has surrendered seven goals in three games while stopping 84 shots against.  His goals against is at 2.23 and save percentage is .923 which is almost exactly where his numbers ended last season (2.28 GAA, .923 SV%).  

Derek Stepan showed he can be the answer to the questions surrounding the top line left winger as he looked like he had been playing with Gaborik and Richards since training camp opened.  Gaborik and Richards have shown excellent early chemistry with one another as Gaborik is skating like he did during the 2009-10 season and Richards passes allow him to take advantage of that burst.  Obviously the line will have to be more impactful throughout games than they have been in the first three, but the seeds are there for a special line that can carry an offense.

The play of Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh has been phenomenal and while there have been breakdowns from other defenders, the way the defense has played without Staal at all and no Sauer against the Islanders should be somewhat encouraging.  Losing two of the top four defenders is something that would cripple most teams, but the Rangers have battled through reasonably well in the early going.

It is easy to go nuts over the 0-1-2 record and the overall uninspiring performances of the team thus far, but just like 3-0-0 doesn’t mean you are going to be having a parade in June, 0-1-2 does not mean you will miss the playoffs and the world is over.  There are 79 games to go in the season, so let us all take a step back, look at what is and what is not working and realize there are 2 points to be had in the next game.

Video: Brian Boyle Sings ABBA's Dancing Queen

Roster News: Rangers Recall Brendan Bell

According to the AHL transactions page the New York Rangers have recalled defenseman Brendan Bell from the Connecticut Whale.  There was no corresponding move of a defender being sent down so the Rangers are currently carrying 8 defenders on the roster.  This move is likely because of Sauer's injury status and the fact the team is going to Western Canada where it is harder to get a call-up to join the team.  Hopefully it is just precautionary and Sauer will be back in the lineup very shortly as he was clearly missed last night, especially on the penalty kill.

Newbury For Zuccarello Swap About Money And Best Fit For Team Roles

Last night the New York Rangers made a roster swap by sending Mats Zuccarello down to the Connecticut Whale and recalling Kris Newbury to take his spot on the active roster.  There are a lot of facets to the move, but a couple of the main ones are money and development.  Andrew Gross at Rangers Rants astutely pointed out last night the significant difference in cap hit between Mats Zuccarello ($1.75 million) Kris Newbury ($512,500) as it will save the Rangers significantly.  Gross goes even further asking the following…

The question now, is it a prelude to a move to acquire a defenseman?

Gross could be onto something in the long-term plans, but the move of Zuccarello for Newbury right now is about more than just the money.  Mats Zuccarello is an offensive player who has to play in that sort of role or he is useless at the NHL level.  With Stepan playing on the top line and the Boyle line being used as the third line, Zuccarello is going to be relegated to a fourth line role he is completely unsuited for.  Sending him down to the Whale will allow him to play an upper line role in a more offensive position while continuing to work on his game in case the Rangers need him to fill in for a top 6-9 forward being hurt.

Newbury on the other hand is scorching to start the year with four goals and four assists for the Whale. Beyond his hot start Newbury is perfectly suited and used to playing a fourth line role in the NHL.  He is good on faceoffs, fits into the forechecking system and brings energy during his shifts.  The only issue with Newbury could be that he plays with so much energy out there that he can get himself into trouble taking an unnecessary penalty, which the Rangers certainly don’t need right now.

The move of Newbury for Zuccarello is not a sexy one for the fans, but it is the best use of both players talents within the organization while also saving the team money if they do want to make a move for a higher salary player down the line.

Video: Torotella Postgame "We're Not Disciplined Enough"

Coach John Tortorella met with the media following tonight's 4-2 loss to the Islanders and while he took some of the blame for the loss on himself he was not having any of the blame game on the officials or the schedule.  While some of the calls were lousy against the Rangers tonight, Tortorella is right that it is a discipline problem from his own team that has had them behind all season.

Tavares Hat-Trick Keeps Rangers Winless In Early Season

The New York Rangers took on the rival New York Islanders looking for their opening win of the season, but failed to find it following a 4-2 loss tonight.  The combination of Rangers penalties, both real and imagined, and John Tavares scoring a hat-trick plus an assist were the difference on the evening.  Tavares continued to have a hot stick following a four point (2G, 2A) outing against the Lightning on Thursday night. 

The first period saw the Rangers have another slow start in being unable to generate offense and continuing their early season parade to the penalty box.  The penalty kill was excellent, and even had a few chances offensively, but you cannot live a man down.  The Islanders struck first on a goal from Matt Moulson when following a Tavares led rush and Parenteau tip pass saw him wide open for a quick wrist shot that beat Lundqvist short side.

The Rangers tied the game 6:23 into the second period when all three members of their top line combined to get Marian Gaborik a goal.  Derek Stepan made an excellent defensive play at his own blue line, Brad Richards picked up the puck and fired a beautiful headman pass to Marian Gaborik and Gaborik did not miss on the breakaway.

The Rangers finally got burned for their penalties 11:47 into the second when John Tavares got his first of the evening.  Moments earlier Tavares was robbed by Henrik Lundqvist on a point blank chance, but the Rangers could not survive bad calls against both Ryan Callahan and Brian Boyle as Tavares scored on a backhand chance.

Brandon Prust got the Rangers back to even late in the second when he put a wraparound off the skate of Frans Nielsen in behind Evgeni Nabokov, but the third period belonged to Tavares.

After Dan Girardi was called for an interference penalty early in the third Mark Streit showed just how much he was missed by the Islanders last season.  Streit with extreme patience at the point fired a perfect shot pass off the stick of Tavares to beat Lundqvist and give the Islanders the eventual game winner.  Tavares capped the hat-trick with an empty net goal with 1:03 remaining.

• The Rangers had some positives to take away from this game in that Henrik Lundqvist was excellent again, Marian Gaborik is back to skating hard this season and Derek Stepan acquitted himself nicely on the top line.
• The penalties must end or the Rangers are going to continue to have trouble establishing anything.  The penalty issue goes well beyond having to stop the other team’s best offensive weapons at a disadvantage as it prevents the Rangers from establishing their game and limits the ice time that Gaborik and Richards get since they don’t kill.

Rangers Send Zuccarello Down To Connecticut Whale, Recall Kris Newbury

After being a non factor for the New York Rangers opening three games this season, only playing 7:55 tonight, Mats Zuccarello has been sent down to the Connecticut Whale according to Andrew Gross.  The early performance is disappointing for Zuccarello as he had an excellent camp/preseason to secure the spot to start the year.

Kris Newbury who has eight points (4G, 4A) already this season will be the one getting the call.  Newbury is the right move as he is hot and he can play a limited role on the fourth line while Zuccarello gets to play big minutes in Connecticut instead of being a bench/fourth liner.

Wolski (Groin) Out Vs Islanders

According to Andrew Gross Wojtek Wolski will not be in tonight's lineup for the New York Rangers.  Wolski not playing is not a big surprise as he was the extra skater in practice yesterday as he tries to get over a sore groin that has plagued him since the middle of training camp.  With Wolski out the fourth line will be Rupp-Christensen-Zuccarello.

In Need of Opening Win Rangers Cannot Sleep On Improving Islanders

When the New York Rangers take on the New York Islanders this evening it will be a battle of two rivals with very different goals.  For the Rangers they are looking to get their first win of the season and secure a big two points before they head out on a Western Canada trip starting Monday.  Coming off an 0-0-2 start in Sweden against very good Anaheim and Los Angeles teams the Rangers are looking for momentum can chemistry with tonight’s game.  In order to get both of those the Rangers have gone back to both of last season’s best lines with Dubinsky moving back down to play with Anisimov and Callahan while Fedoteno gets taken off that line to be reunited with Boyle and Prust. 

Taking Dubinsky's place on the top line is Derek Stepan who will look to more impactful tonight than he has been in either of the first two games.  Stepan has the skill set to play and succeed with Richards and Gaborik, and the Rangers need him to do so to give the team some measure of consistency in lines and production.  Stepan has severely disappointed in the opening two games as he has played to an Erik Christensen like level of invisibility.  Time for him to step his level back up.

Defensively the Rangers are dealing with another loss as Michael Sauer joins Marc Staal as top four defenders not in the lineup.  This is another huge blow to the defense corps especially against a young, explosive offense like the Islanders.  Against Anaheim and to some extent Los Angeles you can focus mainly on one line and hope to survive against the rest, but the Islanders have more threats throughout their lineup with players like Grabner and his 34 goals not playing with Tavares and Moulson.   Girardi and McDonagh will look to shut down the Islanders top line and eat up half the minutes in the game once again, but it will likely be the play of the bottom four that determine the outcome.  Tim Erixon, Michael Del Zotto, Steve Eminger and newcomer Jeff Woywitka are going to have to figure out a way to stay afloat for half the game and limit the number of mistakes that Henrik Lundqvist has to erase.

For the Islanders they are looking to make a statement that this season can be different than the misery of the last number of years.  The Islanders are a young team at many of the key positions and have yet to prove much at the NHL level and while this game alone will not do that, having a 3-1 opening to the season would continue the hope that this year is different.  Having Tavares, Grabner, Moulson, Streit, Okposo and Hamonic gives them a reason to be optimistic about where this team is heading and they are all playing well to open the year coming off a 5-1 beating against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

The Rangers were lucky to get out with the 2 points they got in Europe as they played maybe three good periods in the two games.  Those kind of half game efforts did not get them wins in Sweden and they will not get them a win tonight against an improving Islanders team.  The Rangers should be fired up to play this game and if they play their system by imposing their will they should get their first win.

Rangers Not A Playoff Team?

Following the signing of Brad Richards many of the “experts” have written the New York Rangers are locks to make the playoffs and some have even said they could be threats to contend.  Rob Simpson obviously did not get that memo.  Simpson, writing at Hockey Buzz, wrote that the Rangers are still extremely flawed and his estimation are not even a playoff team this season.

And along those same lines, adding Brad Richards didn’t suddenly make the New York Rangers the fourth or fifth seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs. In fact, it’s highly questionable whether they’ll make it in at all.

Simpson went on to call the Rangers a one-line team, which is a complete fallacy by ignoring the skill and production of Dubinsy, Anisimov and Callahan as a group last season.  However, many of the questions he raises about the roster are absolutely true, and the Rangers will need to answer them on the ice instead of expecting anyone to hand them anything as the “experts” have done since the end of last season.   

The negatives and/or questions from Simpson…

For different reasons and to different degrees, here’s a list that includes those likely to be around: Wolski (desire), Anisimov (next step), Stepan (2nd year), Zuccarello (size), Boyle (consistency), Christensen (minutes), Staal (health), McDonagh (experience), Sauer (consistency), Del Zotto (see above), Erixon (opportunity).

On the positive side Simpson does look at what is working in the Rangers favor and that is exactly what everyone would expect it to be…

The Rangers have three important things running in their favor. 1) Goaltending. 2) Work ethic. 3) Team identity (related to number 2) and buy-in. Wait! Four things. 4) Plenty of weak brothers in the East, including Winnipeg, Florida and Ottawa that won’t contend for anything.

All of those items are absolutely working in New York’s favor as long as the team plays to that work ethic and identity they had last season instead of waiting for the skill of Richards and Gaborik to do the job for them.  The skill must complement the identity or the Rangers will lose the edge they had over their opposition on most nights.  Outworking teams is what made this team fun to watch and brought hope for the future as the skill was growing with the hard-work they were putting forth.  Even with Richards, Gaborik and improvements from players like Anisimov and Stepan, the Rangers are not going to be the most talented team on the ice against the upper echelon team’s in the league.  Work ethic can counter than on any given night and as long as the Rangers remember that part of it they can prove Simpson wrong and make the playoffs when all is said and done.