The Rangers look to extended their home winning streak to six games Monday against the Stars. Dallas comes in off a 6-2 dismantling of the Islanders yesterday. New York enters the contest following a 4-2 win over Florida on Saturday. Will be interesting to see Jim Montgomery, who was originally mentioned as a possible favorite for the Rangers’ that ultimately went to David Quinn.
Larry Brooks had his Regarding the Rangers column in the NY Post today. I will get to my views on his thoughts further below. For now, will cover the game preview.
New York rightfully sent down Vinni Lettieri to the minors Sunday, rewarding Steven Fogarty for his fine play at Hartford. Lettieri should play top-six minutes and might be back if he plays well. Fogarty deserves the promotion and should slide into the fourth line center role.
If Mats Zuccarello is able to play Monday after missing Saturday’s game with a resurgence of his groin injury, I could see him on the first line with Mika Zibanejad and Vladislav Namestnikov. After his fine outing again Saturday, Filip Chytil should skate again on the second line with Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes. I would leave Ryan Strome on the third line with Jimmy Vesey and Brett Howden, which then would result in Jesper Fast going from the first to fourth line with Fogarty and Lias Andersson. If Zucc is out, Fast likely suits up on the first line again as he did Saturday, with Cody McLeod on the fourth line.
On defense, as Brooks noted, coach David Quinn gave no guarantee Brady Skjei would return to the lineup Monday after sitting out Saturday as a healthy scratch. Brendan Smith not only played well enough to retain his spot after his three-game spell in street clothes, but he combined with Freddy Claesson to form a pretty decent penalty-kill pair, which after seeing the debacle short handed Thursday and issues the last few weeks, can’t be overstated. The coach said that would be part of the equation in deciding upon his personnel.
If Skjei does return, he could slide in on the left with Smith while Tony DeAngelo sits this one out. Kevin Shattenkirk has played with jump as Claesson’s partner on the right side. Shattenkirk has benefitted from a more defensive minded blueliner opposite him. ADA hasn’t been bad, but someone will have to sit for Skjei if he opts back in. I would give Marc Staal a game off, but won’t be shocked if DeAngelo is the one sent to the press box. But I would sit Skjei again.
The below is from Brooks with my thoughts following each bracketed section:
1. Namestnikov has set the template for Strome, a silky, skill-oriented forward who is going to have to add a couple of tablespoons of grit to his game in order to play a meaningful role for this team.
Namestnikov has been a revelation the past three weeks following a start of the season that was equally as silent as his post-deadline finish in the Blueshirt after landing in Kansas following a spin in Oz. Too much on the perimeter to have success, Namestnikov has remade his game.
He has competed relentlessly in the battle zones just as he has repeatedly barreled his way to the front of the net. That, of course, is how he scored the winning goal in Saturday’s 4-2 victory over the Panthers, by getting to the blue paint to pop home a rebound that appeared to ramp off Roberto Luongo’s stick. Namestnikov got there and he was hungry enough to win the puck.
They’re buying in; buying into Quinn’s vision for this team, that, quite frankly is not nearly good enough to win without getting its collective hands and noses dirty. Namestnikov made a name for himself in Tampa Bay by flashing his talent playing on a line with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, arguably two of the best dozen forwards in the league.
By necessity, after being Quinn’s first performance-related scratch in Game 2 in Buffalo (or is that effort-related?), Namestnikov has added to his game and has been rewarded for it. He has held a top-six role beginning with the Rangers’ Oct. 30 turnaround game in San Jose. He is on the power play. He kills penalties. He adds value to the group.
More importantly, in the grand scheme of things, the 25-year-old is increasing his value on the market.
A few weeks into the season we - including me - we’re ready to send Nam anywhere else but here. Good for Namestnikov in that he recognized what he had to do, with Quinn getting credit for making it clear to Nam what was required for him to get back in the lineup and be successful. He now is going hard to the net and competing all 200 feet. Namestnikov has been one of the best forwards on the team the last three weeks and deserves his line placement opposite Zibanejad. Where $4 mil a season this year and next looked like an overpayment, right now, that term and salary looks reasonable and shouldn’t preclude a deal for the future if one was available.
2. Also 25, Strome needs to rebuild his game in the wake of being traded for the second time within 17 months after a short, unproductive stint in Edmonton. He needs to rebuild his confidence after struggling with the Oilers and washing out with the Islanders after having been the fifth-overall selection in the 2011 entry draft.
There is no residual pressure now. The Rangers traded Ryan Spooner for Strome, not Jordan Eberle. They did not, as GM Jeff Gorton said on Saturday, draft him fifth overall. No one expects him to be a top-six guy. What the Rangers expect — and what Quinn will demand — is that Strome adds sandpaper to his tool kit. If he does, the righty who plays the middle and the wing can be a bottom-six and penalty-killing asset. If he doesn’t, he won’t play all that much.
Quinn showed confidence in Strome on Saturday, utilizing the versatile player late in the game to protect a lead and shifting him to the middle for draws in place of Brett Howden, who was scuffling. I think we all have to be patient with Strome, hoping for the same type of progression we have seen from Namestnikov. If Strome can develop enough to be a viable member of the top-nine, which to me is where he slots best, on the third line with Howden and Vesey, then New York becomes a much deeper team. In adddithon, due to the $900k per season in cap hit on Ryan Spooner’s deal that New York is assuming, Strome’s contract is in essence the same as Namestnikov. We can only hope that Strome starts to play like Namestnikov has the past three weeks.
3. If Filip Chytil, with goals in three straight since being bumped up to the top six, thrives on the wing, does that not create a scenario under which extending Kevin Hayes no longer blocks the 19-year-old?
Or should we insist on trading the team’s best player since the start of last season in order to create an opportunity for Lias Andersson, who played only 6:42 on Saturday while chained to Cody McLeod and Vinni Lettieri on the fourth line?
It is unclear whether Quinn is a three-line coach or whether he does not have enough trust in the Rangers’ fourth line to give it more than a quick turn or two in the third period on any given night.
My view on Hayes has been clear the past few seasons. Stating it again is overkill. With Fogarty now up, if Zucc is back, a fourth line of Andersson-Fogarty-Fast should be one that Quinn could roll with confidence. If that trio plays well, then Quinn might use four lines that receive relatively balanced minutes in a game where New York leads. In contests where the team trails, then the fourth line will see less minutes, but we should see more balanced utilization then we have in the past.
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