It’s Rangers game day and boy are we heading into unknown territory. The Rangers lost both of their back to back games over the weekend, one of which they were minutes away from winning and the other might have been a tipping point. I’ll quickly recap what went down against Chicago as it directly correlates with how the Rangers approach their games this week but nevertheless, this is an extremely delicate situation. I use the term unknown territory because for the team as a whole, this is a brand new situation and not a good one. The Rangers have not been this bad since the start of the rebuild which is quite concerning for a team who’s window is supposed to just be opening. The Blueshirts have gone 4-4-2 in their last ten which doesn’t sound that bad until you recall the games individually. Countless blown leads, sloppy games, mistakes, lack of heart, this team has not played a complete 60 minute effort or looked impressive at all in almost a month, maybe even longer. Will they turn it around tonight? Will there be major changes? Tune in and find out..
Let’s quickly recap what went down in the second period of the Chicago game and why that’s important for the team’s current state. Jacob Trouba, who already had a fight earlier in the game, let out a huge hit on Chicago’s Andreas Athanasiou. Hawks captain Jonathan Toews quickly dropped the gloves and went after Trouba which led to a brief “brawl” that resulted in a Rangers power play. On his way to the locker room seeing as there was more penalty time than game time on the clock for the period, Trouba waved to the Rangers bench, screaming at them to wake up before throwing his helmet against the boards as he skated off the ice.
Say what you will about Trouba’s play on the ice and his stint as captain thus far, but this is EXACTLY what you need from your leader when things are hitting the fan. This is a passionless team that has shown zero heart in recent games and as a result, someone needed to let the frustration out. Anyone who says this is just Trouba throwing a fit or being angry over his own play clearly hasn’t played the game or doesn’t understand hockey beyond the surface level. This is a sport driven by passion and the love of the game, these things happen when you care and it’s refreshing to know someone on this team does. Again, Trouba’s on ice performance has been rough and a small part of what’s wrong with this team but at the end of the day it is a TEAM game. For every aspect of Trouba’s game contributing to the team’s struggles, there are 21 other reasons for it as well. Good on him for stepping up when the team needed someone to show some fire.
So, back to where that leaves us now. The Rangers are taking on a St. Louis Blues team that is struggling just about as much as they are. The Blues are 11-13 on the season having gone 5-5 in their last ten, currently on a three game losing streak. Their numbers as a whole are quite poor and they have their own issues going on as Jordan Binnington seems to be hitting anyone in sight any chance he gets. Perhaps we’ll hit breaking point number two in the event he lays a hit on anyone in a Rangers sweater that results in another brawl but in any event, the Rangers need to play as if this is the last game of their Rangers career. The team has to ask themselves how far they are willing to let this losing streak take over them because as we’ve all learned from past situations, Rangers management is not afraid to make hasty, rash kinds of decisions. One more loss and someone, or several people could be without a job.
On the Blues end, Pavel Buchnevich has the hot hand, with three goals and three assists in their last five games. A name I’m sure we’ll have to hear about all night on Rangers Twitter. He and Robert Thomas are leading the charge on this cold Blues team as they will look to snap their own streak following a 6-2 loss to the Penguins on Saturday. They’re a team that doesn’t score much and tend to allow a lot of goals so the Rangers have to have a shoot first mentality when given the chance tonight. That especially goes for some of their top players who tend to make the pretty plays and look for passes more often than putting the puck on net. Jordan Binnington’s save percentage is under .900 and in the event that Thomas Greiss gets the start, his is just barely over .900. Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck. There should be no excuse for the Rangers not to put some pucks in the net and win this game.
Every single player that pulls on that sweater needs to have the same heart and energy Jacob Trouba had in the second period of the Chicago game. His burst did lead the Rangers to getting on the board, but they fell flat afterwards. There can not be any afterwards tonight. They need to get on the board early, often and put the Blues away immediately. That won’t be enough as this team needs to play with urgency from the minute that puck drops, right until that final buzzer goes off. We are 26 games into the season, well over a quarter of the way through. If this team can’t get on track by Christmas, it is going to be a rough New Year. As far as lines go, we’ll have no idea what we could be looking at until after the team’s morning skate which is set to take place in about an hour and a half from the time I’m writing this. One thing however, is for sure and that’s there needs to be change and if there isn’t, Gallant’s job could be on the line.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” This quote is directly applicable to Gallant and the New York Rangers. All due respect to Jimmy Vesey, but if the Rangers beat reporters tweet out the practice lines and his name is anywhere on that first line, Gallant needs to be fired on the spot. I’m not even a huge believer in the idea that Gallant needs to be fired but there is zero reason for Vesey or any of the depth players to be seeing top-six minutes. I along with so many fans are extremely tired of saying this but it’s time to let the kids roll and if they can’t hang, then they’re part of the problem. Gallant needs to roll the kid line as part of the top six because, I can not say this enough, IF THEY CAN’T CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS TEAM, THIS TEAM WILL NOT HAVE SUCCESS. Too much term and cap space is invested in Zibanejad, Kreider, Panarin, Trocheck, Trouba and for whatever reason, Barclay Goodrow. If the kids can’t fill out the roster, the Rangers are screwed.
Part of what boggles my mind with this team so much is I can’t even think of answers at this point. That being said, here’s my answer:
Panarin - Zibanejad - Kravtsov
Lafreniere - Chytil - Kakko
Kreider - Trocheck - Vesey (I guess)
Blais - Goodrow - Gauthier
In the long run, this team needs a better forward option where Vesey is slotted above. They can either put Kravtsov there and find a way to bring in a Timo Meier or Brock Boeser, or find a low cost, skilled player to plug in with Kreider and Trocheck. I don’t care if Zibanejad and Kreider are married, I don’t care who Panarin wants and doesn’t want to play with, the kids need ice time and things need to change. On the back end, it also might be time to split up the top duo to better distribute the pairings:
Miller - Fox
Lindgren - Schneider
Hajek (again, I guess) - Trouba
It’s obvious the Rangers also need an upgrade on the back end but again, they’re not in a place to make a trade and cap space is an ongoing issue. We can fantasize trade scenarios all we want but again, if this team wants to turn things around… THEY NEED THE PLAYERS HERE TO DO IT. That’s it, that’s all. Until this team gets it together, they’re not going anywhere. Tonight makes or breaks the future of this season and quite possibly the seasons to come.
Chris Feldman
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