Ladies and Gentlemen, It’s Rangers game day and after a brief hiatus, I am back with a game day post as the Rangers look to wrap up their West Coast road trip with a very winnable, back to back stretch. The Rangers are coming off a fairly strong showing in San Jose Saturday Night where despite the Sharks cutting the lead in half with fifteen seconds to go, the Rangers controlled the game and found the back of the net twice in the games final ten minutes for the win. Through their last ten, the Rangers are 5-3-2 which on paper, doesn’t sound too bad unless you look at the games individually. The Rangers have truly struggled to gain any sort of momentum this season but if they can manage to get the four points they need from this upcoming back to back, they could be on the precipice of flipping the switch as the season continues.
I’ve mentioned in the past that part of the reason why the Rangers aren’t living up to expectations this season is because of how high fans set the bar for them going into the season. Given their playoff run, everyone expected the Rangers to be something of a power house this season and frankly, it hasn’t seemed as such up to this point. Another part of that problem is how strongly the New Jersey Devils and even the Islanders have started the season off. Two teams that no one really expected to be a threat are now cause for great concern regarding this Rangers teams playoff chase. Not to mention, the Carolina Hurricanes are still there and the Penguins are knocking on the door, currently one point behind the Rangers in the Wild Card spots.
Nevertheless, we’re only just shy of 20 games into the season. There’s quite a ways to go and along with that, a lot of work to be done. Prior to the start of this road trip (including the one off at home with the Coyotes) I said a reasonable goal for this team should be to go 5-2 in that stretch. With two games remaining, the Rangers are 3-1-1. With that in mind, the Rangers could technically exceed that goal with a pair of wins in the back to back, but it’s not going to come as an easy feat. The Kings are in a bit of a similar position as the Rangers, coming out of the retool stage and looking to once again, compete. They currently sit second in the Pacific standings with a record of 11-8-2, (5-4-1 in their last ten). The Kings are also coming off a West Coast road trip where they dropped three of four, only beating the Oilers throughout the course of last week. They’ve since had two days off and will return to their home ice, well-rested, looking to turn things around.
The Rangers have to look at this game as a must win and are going to need more from practically everyone up and down their lineup. Through their last five games, Adam Fox has been the story and the most consistent factor, with three goals, six assists and a +/- of six. It’s been a gradual start for him this year, but in time he is certainly starting to look like the Adam Fox that won the Norris Trophy just a couple of seasons ago. In addition to Fox, Julien Gauthier has been a huge bonus to the lineup since being recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack. In that time, Gauthier has put up three goals and an assist, which believe it or not, is a career high for him in the NHL thus far. He had a beautiful deflection that got the Rangers on the board in their last game against the Sharks and will undoubtedly look to continue on that success. Unfortunately, Gauthier’s success has come as a bit of a road block, not just for Ryan Reaves who has been a healthy scratch for seven of the last eight games, but for Vitaly Kravtsov too.
In the saga that never seems to end, Vitaly Kravtsov has once again found himself in the press box, despite being healthy enough to play. Kravtsov did miss a couple games with a dental issue but Gerard Gallant has stated that he is now good to go, whenever he wants to get him back in the lineup. Problem is, Gauthier has been playing well and for the most part, so has the team, which is resulting in Gallant having no desire to get him back in the mix until he has reason to. We are now closing in on twenty games into the season and Kravtsov has played in six of them. Sure, four separate injuries kept him out of most of them but the fact of the matter is, he has yet to solidify himself as an NHL player in a year where he absolutely needs to do so if he and the Rangers want a future together. I tweeted this very early this morning, the Rangers need to give Kravtsov a true ten game trial where they plug him into the second line with Panarin and Trocheck. If he doesn’t give you anything there, give him five games on the third line and if he still isn’t giving you anything, send him to Hartford and if that’s it, that’s it.
Problem with that is, the Rangers are not in a position to experiment. As I stated earlier, the Devils and Islanders are exceeding expectations this season and that is causing major problems for the Rangers. This is a team that has failed to build any sort of consistency this season and as a result, you have to run with what wins you games and if it’s Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow in the top six, so be it unfortunately. In a fantasy dream world, I would love for Gallant to try the following:
Panarin - Zibanejad - Gauthier
Kreider - Chytil - Kakko
Lafreniere - Trocheck - Kravtsov
Vesey - Goodrow - Blais
But that’s not going to happen. Gallant already alluded to tonight’s lineup looking identical to how it did against the Sharks and given all the reasons mentioned above, you can’t really blame him. The Rangers need to win games and if he feels that’s their best chance of doing so, you do you man. That being said, we can expect the same combinations we saw Saturday night:
Kreider - Zibanejad - Vesey
Panarin - Trocheck - Goodrow
Lafreniere - Chytil - Kakko
Blais - Carpenter - Gauthier
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Jones - Schneider
Some more positives for the Rangers, Jacob Trouba who has certainly struggled to start the season is coming off one of his best games of the year. A lot of fans are quick to fault Trouba for his lackluster play as well as the teams (the downside of being captain) but we have to remember, he has been dealing with a nagging injury throughout the majority of the year so far. Whether he should be playing through that or not is a topic for another day but hopefully Saturday night’s showing is an indication that he is on the verge of coming out of that slump. The Rangers definitely need more from him as well as K’Andre Miller who hasn’t stood out anywhere near the way he did last season. A resurgence in Trouba’s game could hopefully light the spark in his game as well.
Igor Shesterkin should get the start tonight, hopefully setting up Halak for an easier night against the Ducks tomorrow night in Anaheim. Shesterkin was fifteen seconds away from a shutout in San Jose before the Rangers let up, allowing Logan Couture to slip one past him. Shesterkin has struggled mentally this season and certainly could have used that shutout but either way, look for him to have a strong outing tonight as he looks to help carry this team to success, much like his predecessor did for countless years. The Rangers are likely learning the lesson this season that they can not rely on Shesterkin to win them 45+ games a season and have to be better in front of him. Defensively, the team hasn’t been great this season but with Trouba picking it up and Miller to hopefully follow, there’s no doubt that this group is capable of giving Igor the support he needs.
On the opposite end, the Kings are getting contributions from all over their lineup. Leading the way for them on the score sheet this season is Kevin Fiala, who they acquired from the Minnesota Wild as well as Gabe VIlardi, one of their several younger talents beginning to make his mark in the NHL. Lately however, it’s been Trevor Moore leading the way, averaging a point a game through the last five, including four goals in that stretch. Viktor Arvidsson has also been on fire with five assists. That line of Moore - Danualt - Arvidsson will definitely be a threat for the Rangers and one they are going to want to make sure Lindgren and Fox are on the ice for as much as they can.
The Rangers match-up pretty well against the Kings, especially on special teams. The Kings have the upper hand on face-offs as well as goals for differential but as long as the Rangers build off their strong game against the Sharks, they should be able to take control of this one as well. Jonathan Quick and Cal Peterson have split starts for the most part this season having pretty similar numbers, neither of which being all that impressive. The Rangers should be able to find the back of the net much more than they were against Reimer on Saturday, making for this to be a great chance to get their offense going. Look for the kid line to have a big night tonight, specifically Alexis Lafreniere who had one of his most confident showings against the Kings last season, after scoring in the shootout, reminding the Kings bench who the first overall pick was.
Chris Feldman
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