I start to doubt that the Rangers will make the playoffs. Each loss the team has makes that thought a reality. A thought I really don’t want to believe but it’s something after each loss I start to think about more.
I start to think about if and when the Rangers blow it up, will we see Michael Grabner and Rick Nash come back to the team next year? On deals that would be team friendly? Would either of them want to come back after being traded?
Sometimes I wonder about the what if. I wonder about certain things that have gone wrong with the Rangers. I wonder how things would be if things happened differently.
What if Chris Kreider didn’t get that blood clot. What if Kevin Shattenkirk was not only utilized properly, but what if he got his surgery a lot earlier than expected (maybe earlier in the season), rather than wait until to get worse.
I feel the Rangers would be a different team. Then I wonder about the team if they were coached by someone different. Someone who knew how to utilize his talent, someone who understood the potential of some of his players. Would we see more of a youth movement? Would we see the roster we have right now doing better, because the coach is using the players he has properly?
I know I talk a lot about the negatives about this team, there are wins though.[/text_output]
Zibanejad has shown he’ll be the team’s first-line center of the now. He has done extremely well managing the ice and making his line mates better. Both Kreider and Buchnevich, when together, saw how good Zibanejad’s vision was. It also showed how much of a playmaker he could be, turning Kreider into that forward we were waiting for and with Buchnevich, making him comfortable and proving his coach wrong.
The concussion may have thrown a slight thorn in the strong season Zibanejad was having but he’s starting to slowly get his legs around. We’re starting to see what we were expecting with Zibanejad. We hope this continues as he continues to be a strong center for this team and can help drive up scoring chances.
Let’s look at Hayes. As much as I despise Alain Vigneault, you cannot deny how he took a player like Kevin Hayes and turned him into that much needed shut down center. We’ve seen his game transform to the more defensive side of the game, rather than focusing offensively.
Yes, he’s chipped in a goal here and there, but you have to commend him for playing a solid game defensively, making it tough for the opposing teams top lines to really get anything started.
The idea here is that Hayes needs to continue to play hard both ends of the ice. We know the challenges that Hayes has had offensively through his career, I do think though his offensive side will show up. It won’t be anything consistent, but it will be something that will come in timely situations.
Think of Hayes as Derek Stepan 2.0. Someone who embraced their role as a shutdown center and did all that he could to be counted on in the toughest situations. Good to see we are seeing that with Hayes.[/text_output]
This has been the biggest disappointment in the entire coaching tenure of Vigneault, more because this has been consistently head-scratching since Buchnevich came into the league last year.
Losing playing time over Tanner Glass, being pushed up and down the lineup, it’s amazing that his lack of playing time hasn’t truly affected his play. He did have a slow period in the month of December, but sometimes with a young player that is bound to happen. It’s not fair for a coach to punish a young guy like Buchnevich, who needs the ice time to right the ship.
Before Buchnevich’s concussion, he was playing well again. He was getting trusted on the top line again, alongside Zibanejad and they were showing their chemistry with one another. We’ll see that again but for now, we must be proud of what we’ve seen so far in year 2 with Buchnevich.
Now, I know with Lundqvist this is normal for him. Seeing him do well, another year another good season.
Let’s pull it back a bit, Lundqvist did not have a good 2016-2017 season. He did not have the strongest year, as he struggled to make the saves he routinely would make. He knew that the style of game he played in years past wouldn’t work for him going forward.
He knew, to be the same guy he was before, he had to change his game. He had to change his style. It’s worked, he’s kept the team in games that they don’t deserve to be in. He’s kept this team relevant and not in a far and distant place outside of a playoff spot. He’ll continue to do that. You’re going to get a competitive team with Lundqvist in net.
As much as we would like to see a full-on rebuild, this team will never get that. There won’t be years being in the bottom-half of the league to get a high lottery pick. This team will always be in the middle of the first round, unless a miracle happens.[/text_output]
There is this stench that won’t go away.
There’s this guy who seemingly hangs around for way too long. Yet, no one knows what to do, or knows how to get rid of him.
I’m talking about you, Vigneault.
Don’t be surprised if he lingers some more with this team, using the injuries as an excuse for a reason why he gets once more chance.
Not saying that he gets another FULL season, but he’ll get a chance to try and at least prove that it was a fluke.[/text_output]
Author: Shawn Taggart
Shawn Taggart is a New York Ranger fan, who loves to dive in to the statistical side of hockey.
Besides watching the Rangers, he watches the Yankees, Knicks and Giants and has this strange obession with finding some really good obscure craft beers. Loyal listener of music.