The Rangers didn't practice Wednesday after completing a four-game road trip, three of which were in California, and a pair home games. In addition, with back-to-back contests on the road Friday in Detroit and Saturday in Columbus along with a home game Monday, coach David Quinn gave the team a well-deserved day off. New York will be back on the ice Thursday, at which point we will have a better idea if Brett Howden, sidelined for "precautionary" reasons Tuesday, has a chance of playing Friday.
Larry Brooks had a couple of interesting points in his NY Post column :
1. Talking about the pack mentality and coming to defense of a teammate. “This all-for-one, one-for-all approach is not only in stark contrast to the bygone era under Alain Vigneault in which the Rangers turned more cheeks than a prison guard conducting strip searches, it is all but antithetical to the franchise’s historical pedigree. That is why it is so welcome.”
First of all, a great line, Second, as Brooks notes, in the past, see Marian Gaborik, we have bemoaned teams taking liberties repeatedly with the Blueshirts. Quinn has brought toughness and a pack mentality this squad, forged from the coach's reprimand to his team after no one answered Eric Gryba’s concussion-inducing headshot against Boo Nieves. Retaliation was not a word in the Rangers' lexicon in the past. Now, players are responding for their teammates. A balance has to be made between reckless and wise retaliation, seen in Cody McLeod getting extra penalty minutes Tuesday. But sometimes to have to lose the battle to the war; in this case showing teams that New York will no longer turn the other cheek, as mentioned by Brooks
2. So, how close is the one-two Mika Zibanejad-Kevin Hayes tandem to the Derek Stepan-Derick Brassard 1A/1B combination down the middle, and how much room for growth is there in the two centers?
More to the point, Hayes has been the Rangers’ best player — the Swedish goaltender, aside — since the start of last season. And the Blueshirts are going to flip him for a late first-rounder and a prospect rather than signing him to a long-term extension? I don’t think so.
Music to TPC's (update: and MDW’s) ears. I am one who doesn't want Hayes moved. As you will see below, Hayes' offensive deployment has risen and as such, I expect his production to rise in kind once he finally gets set linemates. If he remains on a line with Chris Kreider, look for Hayes to start racking up points, as he did Tuesday, when he tallied three assists. In addition, he still is responsible defensively and should win close to 50% of his draws.
The logjam at center is the main impediment to bringing back Hayes, as cap room likely won't be the issue. With Mika Zibanejad, Howden, Flip Chytil and now Lias Andersson in New York, along with Ryan Spooner and Vladislav Namestnikov also able to man the pivot spot, the Rangers have a ton of center men. But maybe other than Howden, and the jury is still out there, who can play effectively on both sides of the ice besides Hayes? If New York is offered a top-six scoring winger or possible first pair blue liner for Hayes, then by all means make the deal. If not, keep him here and try and re-sign him long term, despite the other options available.
3. The dramatic shifts in (offensive-zone) deployment from coach Alain Vigneault to Quinn: Brady Skjei’s o-zone rate dropping from 56 to 45.2; Hayes’ rate increasing from 42.6 to 50.5; Zibanejad’s rate decreasing from 53.4 to 43.9; and Mats Zuccarello’s rate decreasing from 49.8 to 40.5. And here’s one: Namestnikov’s o-zone rate is a team low (for forwards) 28.9.
Skjei's drop could be due to his pair mate and also the return of Kevin Shattenkirk, usage of Neal Pionk and deployment of Tony DeAngelo, when he is in the lineup. Quinn is making Skjei more of a complete defensemen, forcing him to shore up his game in his own zone. Hayes, I discussed above. This is a change I had hoped would happen, since now Hayes isn't only a defensive center but who will be counted on to produce offensively.
Hayes' rise has contributed to Zib's decline o-zone starts, which also is impacted by Howden and Chytil. Zucc is likely impacted by Zib's decline, since they have been paired a lot this year, in addition to Kreider's. Pavel Buchnevich's and Jimmy Vesey's usage. Nam was likely higher earlier in the season when on the bottom-six, since those linemates all have high O-zone percentages. Now paired with Zib and Zucc, Nam's numbers have dropped due to their usage patterns. suffered
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