Rangers Evaluation

The Rangers first line has emerged the last couple of games including a four pointer, from Jaromir Jagr, in Toronto. Petr Prucha also came up big against the Leafs with his first two-goal game of the season. These performances might have been over the course of the past week; but evaluations are made over a year.

Offense:

Of recent weeks the offense has improved with the spark coming from Jaromir Jagr (14 points- 4 goals and 10 assists in his last nine games) and Martin Straka (11 points in the last nine contests) There is just one problem; when the Scott Gomez line (featuring Jagr and Straka) isn’t working, the team’s offense is as inefficient as an obsolete machine. In eleven games that Scott Gomez has not registered a point, the Blueshirts are 4-7. Ultimately, the Rangers need to have more scoring depth if the team hopes to make a playoff push for this season.

Brendan Shanahan has been a solid contributor and expect him to continue his pace after the New Year (he leads the team with 14 goals and seven power play scores; he’s been about a point-a-game player since a 1-0 loss against Pittsburgh on October 20th).

Chris Drury has struggled mightily after coming from the Sabres during the offseason. With the man advantage, I’ve seen him hit the glass with his slapper more than Tony Amonte used to for the Blueshirts. On December 30th, he tied the game at three against Montreal, scoring his tenth of the season; but his shooting accuracy is still at 8.8 percent (lower than his career average of 12 percent). He’s slowly getting better (seven points in his last eight games) but expect him to be a bust as teams get better acquainted with his role on the Rangers. My suggestions; don’t be anxious when shooting the puck because it goes high and wide when tension rises. Also, let Sean Avery be your friend on the ice; Avery’s impact is positive with his energy and gritty ability.

The third line has been quite inefficient as last year’s Hartford Wolfpack first unit has not come together at the NHL level. Ryan Callahan looks overmatched, Brandon Dubinsky only plays well when placed with Jagr during the man advantage (three assists against the Maple Leafs and all of them on power play opportunities) and Nigel Dawes has been bouncing back and forth from the major league club to the AHL. Add on to the list of disappointments, the lack of offensive development from Marcel Hossa and Petr Prucha, and the offensive has been putrid; Hossa’s stick handling and cycling abilites are good but his shot has not found the net often. Prucha had his first mighty game of the year against the Leafs in Toronto. Expect coach Tom Renney to continue juggling the third line to find the right combination of players. Either way, this unit has been the most exposed and the worst on the team.

Meanwhile, the Colton Orr, Blair Betts, and Ryan Hollweg fourth line has been a blessing in disguise. Orr stands up for his teammates by taking on the opposing teams’ tough guy and has 85 penalty minutes to show for it. Blair Betts exhibits tremendous speed and penalty killing abilities and has continued to spark the club in those regards, taking on other teams’ top line and second unit players. Hollweg battles in the corners and cycles the puck well to make sure the opposition has a disrupted offensive flow. He has dropped the gloves this year and can fight with the best of them, including a scrum against Colorado’s extraordinaire Ian LaPerriere. Expect the fourth line to push forward and contribute immensely to the teams’ success after the New year.

Then there’s the two headed power play monster. There is a European style (or a style with greater finesse) with Rozsival and Straka at the points (and sometimes Jagr) with the forwards being Jagr, Dubinsky and either Petr Prucha or Avery. The second unit consists of mostly North American style players that throw pucks at the net and look for rebounds. This includes Drury, Gomez and Shanahan with Fedor Tyutin and dan Girardi at the points (sometimes Avery). Recently, the power play has excelled with it’s apex being against the Leafs. The Rangers scored five times with the man advantage that game. After that barrage, the Blueshirts are fourteenth in the League with on the power play and the players will continue to improve as they work with each other more often.

The offense has been hit-and-miss at best (and has improved lately), but the team is tied for 23rd in the NHL in goals scored (96). The Rangers had started off miserably and were losing 1-0 and 2-1 games in spite of Henrik Lundqvist standing on his head. The offense gets a C-.

Defense

This unit has performed average of late, turning the puck over with frequency. The culprits include youngsters Michal Rozsival and Mark Staal. It’s amazing to think the offense of the backline has been better than what the defense has provided.

Rozsival and Daniel Girardi have combined for fifteen goals on the year (including nine conversions on the power play).

The defense was superb at the beginning of the season as the team gave up 51 goals in 26 games. Since then, the backline has appeared fatigued as has the goaltending (including backup Stephen Valiquette). The squad has squandered 43 in the last thirteen contests including a five-goal performance from Minnesota’s Marian Gaborik and a two-goal outing from Colorado’s Milan Hedjuk.

As for the combinations, Dan Girardi and Fedor Tyutin have been a fabulous duo. The two have been stable defenders and display the ability to make long-entry passes to team-mates before the opposing team’s blue line. Girardi is a fundamentally sound defensive player at the age of 23 whose potential is beyond the Milky Way galaxy. He has good hands, a nifty shot, extraordinary speed, and guards some of the top players in the NHL. Fedor Tyutin has been relatively silent offensively but he has been a stalwart in stopping offensive players from getting between the circles for excellent shots on net. I expect the two to continue dominating offensively and defensively with rare turnovers.

Michal Rozsival has been performing better on the offensive side of the puck than the defensive end. So far Roszival has nine goals and has an accurate slap shot. The shot allows power play competitors to battle at the front of the net and deflect the puck.

There are times where Roszival’s defensive mate, Marc Staal, jumps into the play and shoots it; but Staal’s defensive prowess makes up for Roszival’s turnovers in the Rangers zone. The two have been stellar at covering each others’ weak points that have made for an excellent unit. Of course, Roszival is 29 and Staal is 20, so both have the potential to be an even better tandem.

As for the final unit, the battle is between Jason Strudwick, Paul Mara and Marek Malik. Thus far, Strudwick has been involved in thirty games, Mara in 32 contests and Malik in 18. When the Rangers choose to play seven defensemen, it is more likely the defensive minded Strudwick will play on the backline with either Mara or Malik and the one not playing with Strudwick is a fourth-line winger (Strudwick has alos played on the wing this year). Strudwick is an imposing presence at six-foot three, 225 pounds and has been taking some of the weight off of Colton Orr in the fighting department. Jason cycles the puck well, keeps the puck in the zone for long periods of time, and has excellent hockey I.Q on defense. His plus/minus rating is at minus three.

Malik is painfully slow on the ice and only plays well when given an opportunity on the power play, with his heavy shot. Paul Mara’s defensive game has improved but his capabilities to shoot and attack the net have slowed considerably. This is the most unpredictable bunch because the players might skate with forwards on one night and then with defensemen another. I expect Renney to finalize a six defensemen rotation with either Mara or Malik finding the bench.

The penalty killing, up until recently, has been sharp all year. The team ranks fifth in the National Hockey league in that category.

As mentioned earlier, the defense and goaltending began the year allowing 26 goals in 51 games. The next 13 contests, the team allowed 43. The defense gets an A- because the team is tied for sixth (with the Devils) for fewest goals allowed. I expect the defense will continue to extrapolate all the talent the unit showed in the first 26 games.

Goaltending

Henrik Lundqvist started the season fabulously posting a save percentage of nearly 95 in the first 26 games of the season, including four shutouts. Since then, he’s allowed at least four goals on more occasions than he has posted shutouts (4-to-2). Overall, the defense has looked exhausted recently and so has Lundqvist…until the Christmas break. The Swedish goaltender performed well against Carolina and was reputable against Montreal. Lundqvist has a quick glove, an excellent blocker, and an ability (like no other netminder in the league) to cover the low part of the net as well as he does. Lundqvist is only 17-13 but has a 2.2 GAA (fifth in the NHL), a save percentage of .915 (Tied for 12th) and six shutouts (second in the league)

Since a loss to Ottawa, the Rangers have posted three consecutive quality wins against Carolina, Toronto, and Montreal. The man that mastered the pipes in the middle game was Stephen Valiquette. The 30-year old, Canadian goaltender has started five times for the Blueshirts and been involved in two other games. He is a solid backup and an upgrade from current Devils substitute Kevin Weekes. Valiquette is 2-2 with a 2.68 GAA and a .903 Save percentage.

The goaltending has been spectacular on the power play and on even strength for most of the season. I cannot give the Rangers an A in this department because of the struggles the team had experienced in December. Give the Rangers an A- and with further inspection (if Lundqvist gets better) this becomes an A. I fully expect a fabulous goaltender in Madison Square Garden for the New Year and for Valiquette to spell Lundqvist a couple of games to rest.

All in all, the team has considerably underachieved on the offensive side while performing above it’s heads on the defensive end. I believe both the defense and goaltending will raise their level of play, but the offense is stagnant. The Rangers are one forward away from a Stanley Cup championship (especially on the third line).