Finally, after a long ten days without Rangers hockey the boys are back at it on Garden Ice as they host the Calgary Flames. The Blueshirts have a three game home stand before heading to Carolina on the second half of a back to back, followed by three days off before a stint in Western Canada. An undoubtedly important stretch, as we are now less than a month away from the league trade deadline date and given the Rangers current roster construction, a move could take place sooner rather than later.
While for the majority of the team, these last ten days have been filled with plenty of down time; Or in Panarin, Fox and Shesterkin’s case, All-Star weekend festivities. For a few of the team’s fringe players, it included some stints in the AHL and now that regular season play is resuming, both Sammy Blais and Will Cuylle have returned to the Rangers roster, maxing them out at 23 active players. While this is a common number for many team’s, because of the Rangers cap situation, it’s crucial that they only carry 22 players whenever possible, as it helps them accrue cap room. The fact that they’re opting to carry 23 is a bit peculiar for many reasons and indicates that Chris Drury may be on the verge of making a trade.
Given how the Rangers ended things before the break and from the look of the lines in yesterday’s skate, it looks like we can expect the following line combinations:
Panarin - Zibanejad - Vesey
Kreider - Trocheck - Goodrow
Lafreniere - Chytil - Kakko (with Kravtsov practicing as the extra)
Cuylle - Leschyshyn - Gauthier (with Blais practicing as the extra)
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Harpur - Schneider
Hajek (yes, still on the team)
The question is, why are the Rangers carrying 23 forwards? Well first off, the Rangers made two official roster moves yesterday in bringing back Cuylle and Blais. Neither of which really came as a surprise as we know Blais had to return and Cuylle was scratched in Hartford which gave the indication he was going to be New York bound. Gallant obviously liked what he saw in Cuylle and rightfully so as he could very well be a contributing factor to the Rangers fourth line down the stretch. It’s just odd that the organization made these moves when Vitaly Kravtsov continues to be a healthy scratch and unless Gallant chooses to get Blais back in the mix, he’ll just be wasting cap space as a scratch as well. The only explanations can either be that something bigger is at play here or the Rangers just aren’t as worried about the cap situation as fans are. The root of all of these thoughts boil down to Vitaly Kravtsov.
It’s obvious Gallant doesn’t view Kravtsov as a fourth line player, which is why Will Cuylle was recalled and why he’s getting an extended look at that position. Which is all well and good except, Gallant doesn’t seem to believe in Kravtsov being a top nine player either. We can debate whether or not Kravtsov has gotten a fair chance with this team for hours but the fact of the matter is, it’s February 6th and Gallant still prefers Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow in the top-six over Kravtsov. As annoying as it may seem, if that’s the case you might as well just trade him and get it over with. The former ninth overall pick’s patience has already been tested by the organization and it’s getting to a “piss or get off the pot” kind of situation. He’s gotten chances in the top nine but hasn’t particularly stood out, at least not quick enough for the Rangers liking. If a trade ends up taking place, it’s very likely Kravtsov will be one of the main assets involved in the move.
On the flip-side, if a trade doesn’t happen soon and the Rangers don’t send anyone down, there’s a very real chance they aren’t particularly worried about adding before the trade deadline which would be borderline catastrophic. We’re in this team’s window to compete but if they don’t improve at right wing or on the third pair of defense, they’re putting way too much faith in guys who should at best be depth options. That’s not to slander any of the current rostered players but it’s getting exhausting trying to explain that this team’s best use of Barclay Goodrow is on the fourth line, third in a pinch and Ben Harpur as the seventh defender. In the meantime, the Rangers should at least give Sammy Blais the chance to try and translate the success of his AHL stint to the NHL as he put up four goals in five games over the All-Star break and feels he’s regained his confidence.
It’ll be a situation to keep an eye on the coming days for sure but nevertheless, there’s a hockey game to be played tonight and the players will be focused on getting back into the swing of things on the right foot. They’ve been on a respectable pace in the months leading to the break and the pressure will only increase as the end of the regular season appears closer and closer. The Rangers have yet to play the Flames this season but will play them twice in the next two week span. Once at home tonight and once in Calgary next Saturday. The Flames have had the same amount of time off as the Rangers so expect a bit of a slow first period spent regaining momentum.
Calgary’s been off to a weird season so far as they currently sit on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, despite being one of the top teams in the West last season. However, a win for them would push them ahead of Colorado for that last wildcard spot which should be all the motivation they need to have a strong game. Prior to the break, the Flames pulled off a big 5-2 win against Seattle and have gone 5-3-2 in their last ten. Interestingly enough, the Flames have gotten much better goaltending from their back up in Dan Vladar as Jacob Markstrom has struggled this season, averaging a GAA of 2.86 with a record of 13-13-5. Whichever of the two get the start tonight will be going up against Igor Shesterkin who along with Panarin and Fox had quite the weekend in Florida as part of the All-Star Weekend.
For the Rangers, plenty of eyes will be on Filip Chytil who has four goals and two assists in his last five as he’s among the team leads in recent play going into this game. On Calgary’s end it’s the veteran’s carrying the torch as Tyler Toffoli has three goals in their last five with Mikael Backlund and Elias Lindolm with five points each as well. A big first game back for both teams as we should be in for a solid game once everyone finds their legs.
Chris Feldman
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