Struggling Blackhawks Dominate Rangers
After a promising weekend in which the Rangers looked competitive but fell short in overtime at home against the league leading Avalanche and star studded Golden Knights, Connor Bedard and the young Blackhawks simply bitched the Rangers up and down the ice for 60 minutes and won 3-0, a score that could have easily been much worse for New York if Shesterkin didn’t make some unbelievable saves.
This follows a trend of the Rangers being unable to take advantage of opportunities to get a strong foothold in the playoff picture in the last calendar year. Chicago was coming off back to back 6 goal losses, and was 2-6-2 in their last 10 going into the contest. They looked like they were playing on fast forward against the rangers who looked terribly slow coming off of 2 days of rest. After collecting points in 4 straight games, going 2-0-2, the Rangers fell flat on their face and find themselves a point outside of a playoff spot with at least 2 more games played than every team around them in the standings.
Struggles to Get Shots Through Traffic Killing O Zone Momentum
Watching the Rangers in the offensive zone has been frustrating the hell out of me, in that no one on the team seems to be able to get shots from the point through traffic on a remotely consistent basis. Teams in the NHL are good at getting in the lanes and making sure it’s a tough thing to do, but the best teams are able to generate chaos in the net front by getting low shots through traffic to create a rebound, deflection, or even just use the traffic as a screen to sneak one in from a distance.
The Rangers inability to do so often severely hurts their chances of sustained pressure during their offensive zone time, and the lack of offense being created right in front of the goal mouth is keeping the goals for per game towards the bottom of the league for the Rangers, who currently rank 29th with 2.56. Adam Fox is probably the best player on the team in terms of getting shots through from up high, and his absence is really starting to become painfully obvious.
It’s not Good Enough from JT Miller
Miller had a few games in a row where he was more noticeable than he had been for most of the season going into last nights tilt in Chicago. He had 4 assists in the 4 games leading up to it, and seemed to be leading by example with his level of intensity. Then he’ll have games like last night, where he simply looked lost, he had zero points, zero shots on goal, zero hits, zero blocks, and was a -2 in twenty minutes of time on ice. His 18 points in 30 games this season are a dramatic drop off from last year, he had 35 in 32 games in New York following the trade, and on a team struggling for offense, it’s unacceptable from a guy with 99 and 103 point seasons in the last 5 years.
Sullivan has emphasized a style of game that focuses on being better defensively, but the Rangers have too many guys that struggle in transition due to a lack of foot speed. Miller seems to have become one of those guys, he just doesn’t look fast enough to be an elite producer in this league right now. The long term effects of his leadership remain to be seen, but the lack of speed on the roster needs to be addressed in order to compete, and the Rangers simply need more from their new captain.
Lafreniere’s Flashes of 1OA Talent Few and Far Between
Lafreniere had a huge goal against Vegas, was probably the most noticeable Ranger against Chicago, and showcased some of his weapons he was drafted first overall for in the process. His goal against Carter Hart was a pure snipe, and he displayed silky hands in trying to create off the rush in Chicago, going through the legs to win a one on one and get a shot on goal that was a big save by Spencer Knight. He’s also had two stretches of 5+ games so far this year where he has had zero points and been invisible. He has been in the top six forward group the entire season.
This reality grows extremely frustrating when you look at the leagues leading scorers currently and the top 4 guys are all first overall picks, (MacKinnon, McDavid, Celebrini, Bedard.) Lafreniere since signing his extension seems to take weeks off at a time and fans are beyond tired of it. The Rangers have lost a lot of close games this season. If he chipped in just an extra point here or there they could be in the top 3 in the division standings. Instead, his 17 points on the year, (just one less than Miller,) serve as a reminder of unreached potential. Whether it’s a development issue or a player issue, it’s coming to a head, and another season of disappointment should result in a new home for Lafreniere.
Will Dylan Garand Ever Play a Game as a Ranger?
The Rangers have one of the better AHL goalies of the last calendar year in the system with Dylan Garand. Jonathan Quick’s injury last month seemed like a prime opportunity to get a look at Garand in the National. Instead, Igor started both games of a back to back and Garand spent time on the bench before being sent back down. The Wolf Pack are struggling this year and he has a .903, and last year he was at the top of the AHL in goalie stats, with a .913 save percentage.
Are the Rangers ever going to play this guy? Are they afraid he won’t perform at the next level and they want to protect his trade value? Can his trade value get any higher without a stint in the national? It’s probably time to move on from Garand while he has any value at all. Plenty of teams around the league need goaltending. Once the direction of the team for the season becomes clear, Garand should make for good trade bait, whether he’s used in a package for a rental, or if he’s dealt to a team for futures in the event the Rangers find themselves selling in March.
The Morning Skate 