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Game 8: NYR-NYI, Struggling Rangers welcome subway rivals to town |
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The Rangers face another division rival, their fourth straight game of in-division play, as they take on the Islanders at home. This is the third straight contest at MSG for the Blueshirts, who are also in the middle of a stretch of five games at home out of six total. The Islanders come in off their California road trip, where they went 1-2 with both losses by a 3-2 score.
The Blueshirts for the most part get right back on the beam after their disappointing 5-4 overtime loss to Pittsburgh. While there were some positive signs, the end result with blown leads of 3-2 and 4-3, the latter one the most damaging. New York said all the things you expected to hear after the loss, but at 1-5-1, it’s getting late early.
The forward lines we saw Tuesday should be what’s used tonight:
Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider, David Desharnais, JT Miller
Jimmy Vesey, Kevin Hayes, Jesper Fast
Michael Grabner, Adam Cracknell, Pavel Buchnevich.
The Blueshirts scored four goals against the Penguins, two of which came on the man-advantage. I thought the squad, after a horrific start, did a much better job of generating pressure at even-strength. The player usage and deployment is a work-in-progress, which has been an issue especially recently.
If I am AV, I ride Nash a bit harder and give him additional ice time, since he looks ready to possibly get on a roll. Buchnevich should be on the line with Vesey and Hayes in an attempt to jumpstart those two and afford Buch the playing time he deserves. Kreider and Miller have been invisible, so a slow start from them tonight could result in the blender getting used early.
On defense, the Rangers likely will be
Ryan McDonagh with Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei with Brendan Smith
Marc Staal with Kevin Shattenkirk
Nick Holden with Steven Kampfer (extras)
The blueline had some ugly moments Tuesday. Poor own zone handovers are the norm rather than exception while turnovers led to the first two goals against. Later, a mental gaffe followed by a physical and mental one resulted in the game-tying and game-winning goals. So the D is by no means a finished product. That was expected to a certain extent but I was hoping to see more progress by now.
Tonight, I look to see more signs of growth by Shattenkirk, who finally is starting to settle in. The pairing with Staal should allow ‘Kirk to play to his strengths with Staal, as crazy as that sounds the defensive ballast. McDonagh needs to simplify his game and let ADA be the offensive d-man on that duo. Skjei has played like a shell of the blueliner we saw last season. To me, that’s the most surprising change. Hopefully another game paired with Smith will allow him to settle in and revert back to that form.
Following tonight’s game, Nashville and San Jose come to town, so it gets no easier. With just under two weeks left in the month, New York needs to get on some type of winning streak. If not, the fire under AV’s feet may get higher, but GM Jeff Gorton is not immune from criticism due to the roster construction.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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