Rangers Analysis: Could Del Zotto's Injury Be Good For Him Long Term?

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Could the injury to Michael Del Zotto that is going to keep him out for 4-6 six weeks actually end up being a good thing for his career?  Seems like a crazy thought and before you think so, let me work out where the logic in that idea comes from.  Obviously no injury on its own is a good thing because the goal for all players, especially those in the development phase of their career is to play as much as possible.  The goal of sending Del Zotto down to the minors was for him to get major minutes in all situations, build his confidence and work on his deficiencies and that cannot be done while he is out injured. 

On the other side of that, this injury allows him a break from the ice where he has been fighting his game where he can step back and breathe again, so he can come back with a fresh mindset instead of hearing all the negative voices.  Beyond the psychological side this presents an opportunity for him as a way to help his understanding of the game and mental development in the interim.  Part of the appeal of bringing in Bryan McCabe was for his veteran experience and leadership.  Now is the perfect chance to take advantage of those things.  Since Del Zotto cannot play for the Connecticut Whale over this next month, as his finger heals, the prudent move would be for the Rangers to bring Del Zotto back to the club so that he can spend as much time watching and talking with McCabe. 

Bryan has the ability to impart the hockey knowledge he has gained over the last 15 years at the NHL level both in how to deal with the struggles and what to fix to make things better.  Initially it might be the ability to share his own struggles that helps Del Zotto who is clearly down on his own confidence after the season he has had.  After that, watching McCabe run a power play in terms of keeping the puck in the zone, walking the line to create lanes and opportunities, the willingness to fire the puck and just poise with the puck can only help Del Zotto when he returns to the ice.  The fact that after doing that he can talk to the guy about it, or break down the tape with Michael makes McCabe an invaluable resource for him right now and the Rangers should exploit while they have it.  You never want to see a player get hurt, especially a young player who is trying to get their game back together, but now the Rangers should look to do all they can to make the best of a bad situation and use all their resources to help Del Zotto for his future.

Rangers Prospect Chris Kreider Breaks Jaw, Out Indefinitely

The New York Rangers problems with injuries at all levels is something that seems beyond any rational belief at this point.  What’s worse is each time you think it cannot possibly get any worse someone else goes down.  According to Julie Robenhymer of Hockeybuzz Rangers 2009 1st round pick Chris Kreider suffered a broken jaw on Friday night against the University of New Hampshire.

The incident occurred during the second period of the game when his teammate, Brian Gibbons, cleared the puck up the boards and it hit Kreider in the face he was stumbling.  Kreider dropped to the ice and was writhing in pain along the boards.  He would eventually leave the ice under his own power, while some of his blood remained on the ice.  After being taken to the hospital the break of the jaw was diagnosed.

At this point there is no word on the severity of the break or if he will need to have surgery, which leaves him out indefinitely with no real way to tell whether his season is over or not.  Once they make a determination on the severity and the course of treatment they will determine if there is a chance for him to be involved in the Hockey East or NCAA tournament.

On the season Kreider has 11 goals and 12 assists in 31 games this year for BC.  Rangers fans got very excited after Kreider won the Beanpot MVP and putting up back-to-back two goals games, but since he was quiet with just one assist in the last four games. That dichotomy is not unusual for Kreider season as he has either been red-hot in putting up points or very quiet, which is why I believe another year in college would be good for his consistency and increased role on the team.  Physically Kreider is ready for the professional game, but on the ice another year of development in college could be the difference between being an NHL player versus being an impact play as Kreider has stated he wants to be.

Now is not the right time to delve into deeply, but one must one wonder if he is out for the season how much that sways his decision about going back to school or turning pro this summer.

Will obviously update when any new information becomes available.

Everyone Contributes As Rangers Get Critical Win Over Woeful Senators

Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images

Now everyone can take a deep breath and step back from the ledge.  The New York Rangers did what they were supposed to do tonight and beat a bad Ottawa team 4-1 in their building and got back into the seventh spot I the Eastern Conference playoff race.  It is a feel good win because they finally finished off some of their chances, but in order for it to really mean something they have to carry over the confidence and lessons to Sunday’s game against Philadelphia. The best part of this win was that all four lines contributed to the outcome with each on scoring a goal and for the first time in a while, even though he didn’t steal the game, Henrik Lundqvist made some brilliant saves at the key moments of the game. Everything that had been going wrong over the last three games was reversed tonight, but one must also consider the opponent.  Enjoy it, but don’t think things are fixed by beating Ottawa.

Rangers Fans Group Therapy Chat

Rangers Decision Making On Gaborik Concussion Rattles The Brain

The way that Marian Gaborik and the New York Rangers are approaching his recovery from a concussion is just baffling.  Skating on Wednesday after experiencing no symptoms is the right approach, but for him to skate yesterday when he woke up with headaches and even worse for him to fly to Ottawa with the team today are bad choices.  Concussions are not like broken bones in which you have a set timetable to assume the appropriate level of healing.  They are unpredictable and for every step forward you can get one or two in the wrong direction.  It is a slow process that cannot be rushed and the more it is pushed the worse the results will be in the end.  With that in mind it makes no sense for the Rangers and Gaborik to take unnecessary risks with his recovery, especially when he isn’t even going to play.

Yesterday, despite the headaches he had before skating, Gaborik said that he wanted to play tonight in Ottawa.  Are you serious?  This thinking strikes me as someone who has a concussion and cannot think clearly.  There is wanting to help the team and you have to respect that, but frankly wanting to play while still having concussion symptoms is stupid.

When asked about the possibility of Gaborik playing against the Senators tonight, coach John Tortorella dismissed that possibility out of hand. "No, He still has symptoms."  That is absolutely the right approach and he should not even be considered a possibility until he has multiple symptom free days, much in the way the Stars have handled the Brad Richards concussion.  The problem is the organization followed up that right move by Tortorella with deciding it was a good idea to let Gaborik fly with them to Ottawa.  Again, are you serious?

Someone is going to have to explain to me the logic of putting a player with a head injury on a plane to fly to Ottawa for a game he is not going to play.  How bad the organizational understanding of concussions that they think this is a good idea?  There are zero positives that come out of him making the trip and combination of the altitude and the cabin pressure can only set back his issues.  There is no reason to do something like this and it shows just how misunderstood concussions are and how lightly the severity of them is taken.  The entire process going on around the treatment of this concussion leaves me wondering if everyone involved should be checked for concussion symptoms.

Analysis: Does Rangers Slide Reveal Lack of Player Leadership?

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

With a team as young as the New York Rangers are a slump was to be expected at some point during the season.  Add in the fact that the team frankly lacks elite talent and has been decimated by injuries of varying lengths to just about everyone on the team and what is going on right now should not truly shock anyone.  If anything the fact that they held on for this long should be the bigger surprise.  The difference between the good teams and the great ones though is the ability to stop the bleeding and the Rangers really have not shown that right now.  For me, at some point there has to be a questioning of the leadership on this team.  That questioning goes from top to bottom, but while many will take the easy route and look at the captain Chris Drury I want to look at some of the young leaders on the team who are falling down on the job right now.

There is a push by many Rangers fans to give Ryan Callahan the ‘C’ on his sweater right now and not even wait until next season when it is presumed he will get it.  I am a big Callahan guy, as I love the way he competes on the ice, but I would ask where is this great leadership that makes him worthy of being the captain during this tailspin his club is currently in?  I am not seeing a captain in the making out there right now.  He had two huge games in the back-to-back wins against Pittsburgh and Los Angeles two weeks ago, but his game has been inconsistent since returning from his injury, and I get no sense of urgency when I watch him give the same interview after every single game they lose the same way.  How many times can he talk to a reporter after the game and say we have to start better before he goes out and does something about it?  Before he stands up in the room and demands the whole team goes out and does something about it?  That is what being a captain is about.

Video: Jose Theodore Diving Save Robs Ryan Callahan

Keith "Muhammad" Aulie Lays Out Scott Hartnell (Video)

Keith Aulie of the Toronto Maple Leafs had his first NHL fight tonight against Scott Hartnell of the Philadelphia Flyers and if the league was watching it might be his last one for a some time.  Hartnell clearly had no idea what he was getting into when he squared off with Aulie who used his 6' 5" size along with his reach advantage to dominate Hartnell.  A huge right hand by Aulie dropped Hartnell in a heap.

According to Steve Dangle, during a Leafspace live chat the name Muhammad Aulie was coined and at least for tonight it fits very well.

Video: Matt Bradley Knocks Out Tyson Strachan

Rangers Watching Playoff Hopes Sliding Away As Lose Third Straight, 3-1vs Wild

Someone wake me up when Groundhog’s Day is over.  Three games at home and three straight times you saw the same basic storyline play out.  Tonight was slightly different because the first period was the one they decided to play instead of waiting until the third, but once again the utter lack of finish is beyond comprehension at this point.  You have to score more goals by accident then this team is on purpose right now.  Defensively every goal against is either a deflection or a lost man in front and Henrik Lundqvist is not doing what this team needs right now and stealing a game. 

For a change the Rangers played a dominant first period in which they controlled the play the entire period.  The team had the fast start they keep talking about when Sean Avery gave them the lead just 3:13 into the game.  The play was made behind the net with Christensen who showed excellent patience waiting for Avery to hit the slot and fed him a beautiful pass which Avery roofed over Theodore.  It was only Avery’s third of the season and first since January 8th.  I guess Sean did not appreciate me talking about his 1.6% shooting percentage this morning.

The strong play continued throughout the period and they should have been up multiple goals, but as is usually the case they could not find a way to get the second goal.  They had two power plays, one was abysmal and the other had chances including a golden one for Ryan Callahan, but he did not lift the puck into the open net, rather shooting it into the paddle of Theodore’s stick.  When you hold a team to 3 shots in a period and 17 minutes without a single on you have to have a bigger lead than 1-0.

As well as the team played in the first period, they played equally as bad in the second.  Once again the Rangers took an offensive zone penalty and it came back to bite them.  With Erik Christensen in the box for high sticking, Kyle Brodziak would deflect the puck home to tie the game at one 4:36 into the second.  Before this goal happened the Rangers had a prime chance 2-on-1 with Callahan and Dubinsky and they didn’t even get a shot.  Dubinsky was clearly looking pass the whole way and when that was taken away the puck harmlessly slid off his stick and behind the net. 

Unlike the Rangers the Wild would keep coming and add to their goal total when Casey Wellman burned Matt Gilroy and was all alone in front to deflect a Brett Burns shot in to make it 2-1 Wild.  Bouchard would salt this one away 8:15 into the third and end the game 3-1 Wild.

In terms of the playoff race this was also a bad night for the Rangers. Carolina and Buffalo went to OT with Carolina winning which moved the Hurricanes into 7^th with 71 points and Buffalo within two, while having three games in hand.  The red hot Leafs also beat Philly to get within three points of the Rangers.  We keep saying this every night, but the pressure only builds on how important tomorrow’s two points against Ottawa are.

Avery only getting 7:54 of ice tonight was awful coaching by Torts as he was going more than any other forward.
Ryan McDonagh left the game with what is being called a wrenched knee and is listed as day-to-day
The loss drops the team to 14-16-3 at home.




Anyway, the problem defensively is that the Rangers are allowing the opposition to get behind them. Miscoverages on the rush are resulting in players being left wide open around the crease, which leaves goaltender Henrik Lundqvist out on his own to try and make a desperation save. This is something that must change if the offense only plans on scoring one or two goals a night.

These three straight loses could not have come at a worse time. With Carolina and Buffalo tied 2-2 in their game at the moment, at least one of those teams, maybe both, will be getting points out of that one. This is the closest the Rangers have come to falling out of the playoff race this season, and they better hope that changes tomorrow against Ottawa, because we know they aren’t beating the Flyers on Sunday.