The Rangers are in Colorado tonight to face the Avalanche and the Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen trio, though Tyson Jost is now centering the two big wingers with MacKinnon moved down a line to spread the wealth. After the nightmare that was Wednesday's contest versus Pittsburgh, if New York was hoping to ease back into action, tonight's game won't provide any sort of assistance in that regard. While the Penguins are a deeper roster, in terms of top end talent up front and a solid blueliner, Tyson Barrie vs. Kris Letang, the Avalanche can give the Penguins a run for their money.
Henrik Lundqvist's playing time concerns:
Much of the chatter the last day has been on coach David Quinn's comments regarding his decision to start Henrik Lundqvist after road games against the Predators and Blues during which Hank saw an inordinate amount of action. Lundqvist's start was his 30th in the opening 39 games of the season, putting the Swedish netminder on pace for 60+ outings as a 37-year old goalie. We have spoken a lot about reducing Lundqvist's workload, but his strong early play along with gaps in the schedule, affording the team extra days off, likely contributed to the additional action thrust upon Lundqvist, who did hint after the game he was tired.
“It’s hard. Sometimes you can [start] 10, 15 straight and not feel tired. And then you play a couple games that are so intense and emotional, it takes a toll on you,” he said Thursday, with his sights set to get back in nets for the second leg of the trip, against the Coyotes on Saturday afternoon. “But again, I get an opportunity to work in practice for a couple days and get ready for Phoenix. That’s a good thing for me.
“I was a little tired [Wednesday], but if you only played when you were 100 percent perfect, you would not play a lot of games in this league. You have to find ways to find that energy, find that focus. But some nights it’s just going to be a little harder. I think that’s the toughest challenge in this league when you play every second night, to be on top of your game because of that mental and physical aspect of the game.”
Now, due to his poor start, the handwringing has begun in earnest again. Quinn remarked after the game that he debated sitting Lundqvist but had decided against it. Following the contest, the 20-20 hindsight based on Lundqvist's struggles was on full display. Lundqvist somewhat admitted to being tired, but we all know he wants to be between the pipes as much as possible. It's up to Quinn, in conjunction with goalie coach Benoit Allaire, and at times with a solo decision, needs to run Alexandar Georgiev, as he is doing tonight. Every third game and back-to-back, Hank has to sit. If he gets 30 games in the second half of the season, that's a huge mistake. Somewhere around 25-27 games, the latter on the high end of the spectrum, should be the plan set out now by team management.
The Rangers are playing every other day until the "bye-week" that begins on the 19th. On the 13th, they finish a back-to-back in Columbus after playing a home-and-home against the Islanders on the 10th (at the Garden) and 12th (at Barclays Center). Following the bye, New York kicks off action again on the 27th, kicking off a month of games every other day except for once, after the Feb 12 game when they are off until the 15th. Quinn has to manage Lundqvist's workload appropriately.
Need for Elite Talent:
In addition, much of the chatter on the blog was acquiring an elite player. If it was that easy, everyone would have one. Sure, I would love Tyler Seguin but despite Jim Lites' comments, I don't foresee him going anywhere. Is Philly dealing Giroux? Colorado any of their big three? Pitt with Crosby or Malkin? Edmonton isn't moving McDavid or Draisaitl, even though they need defensemen. We know Tampa and Toronto aren't trading a stud, unless maybe Nylander is moved and it remains to be seen if he will be a stud. Ovie/Backstrom/Kuz aren't going anywhere. My point here is two-fold, yes, New York needs to find a way to add a player that is in the upper tier of the league and two, teams with them aren't moving one even to fill other needs.
This is a rebuild. Short cuts are not the right approach. Implementing the system, fixing the errors that continue to occur and determining who is part of the future are the keys. You can argue with the moves Quinn has made, including playing Filip Chytil on the fourth line or sitting Tony DeAngelo, but I haven't seen where the system can't be effective. I haven't loved everything I have seen but not going the route of others to say he can't be successful. The hope has to be New York gets a high enough pick to find a difference maker, or if not high enough, then draft one where they are who can be. The Islanders nabbed Mathew Barzal, Jets selected Kyle Connor and Mark Schleifele and Bruins picked David Pastrnak anywhere from the middle to latter part of the first round. so having a top, top pick isn't always necessary, though it helps. Making the right and best pick is important, which is what has caused all the consternation over the Lias Andersson pick, along with a handful of others.
I am not short cutting the rebuild to grab a veteran on a big money deal, if one was available. Stay the course, play this out and augment who remains. If New York can add Artemi Panarin or Mark Stone, the talent level on the team rises immediately. in addition, we all have seen that just because you have the worst record, that's no guarantee that squad picks first. with the difficult upcoming schedule and Feb 25 trade deadline likely resulting in certain players moving elsewhere, I am not expecting any sort of winning streak, which will aid in the number of ping pong balls available in the lottery. But I won't root for losses, despite knowing they likely are to occur.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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