The Rangers look to get back to winning ways Thursday in St. Louis. Following a 5-2 beat down, where some issues that have existed in the past came to the fore again - back up goalie, facing an opponent with speed and physicality and lack of bottom-six production - New York takes on an opponent going through their own struggles. The Blues have lost four in a row and will be without Pavel Buchnevich who is in concussion protocol.
A few thoughts:
1)
Alexander Georgiev- the overall numbers are not brutal and his performance lately has been brutal. On the year, Georgiev is 7-9-0 with a 3.15 goals-against average (GAA) and .893 save percentage. In his last five games, he is 1-4 with a GAA of 4.75 and a SV% of .827. Those games came in a six-week span, which is part of the problem., though not the full story.
Georgiev after the game all but pined for additional playing time. He is caught in somewhat of a catch-22 situation. He needs the playing time to be sharp and play well but won't receive the game action unless he plays well. In addition, he is behind the probable Vezina Trophy who coach Gerard Gallant has no issue with riding Igor Shesterkin and playing him more than one might expect.
If Igor goes down, the Rangers are pretty much sunk. Why Marc-Andre Fleury's name has come up in some circles as a candidate to be a backup. MAF may have no desire right now to be moved, but if New York bolsters the third line and looks to be a true contender, I could see him changing his mind just before the 3pm deadline on March 21. I am not advocating for this move and wouldn't be shocked if Keith Kinkaid is up at some point, since the back up at least needs to keep the team in games.
In the future, Georgiev is gone. With a qualifying offer of $2.625 million, that number is above what New York wants to and will pay. The problem is that his value has plummeted. where at one point a third rounder might have been possible, my guess is that at best you get a 4th rounder and now likely a fifth to move him, as teams know he has no place in NewYork.
Larry Brooks in his column covered a few topics we have brought up previously and one that has been a concern for me, just not in the same manner highlighted in the article. The recent decline in play of Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren as well as some concerns over Artemi Panarin were highlighted. Each has been evident lately.
Fox has not looked the same since returning from the injury that cost him the All-Star Game. Similar can be said about Lindgren, based on his current play. Each looks like they are dealing with or playing through an injury. In addition, the minutes both have seen might be starting to catch up with them.
The bold below is an accurate take. Fox has never relied on his foot speed, rather his hockey OQ and shiftiness on his skates to avoid big checks and escape trouble in his own zone. Teams have been gameplanning for Fox since he was in the midst of his Norris Trophy campaign, so don't believe that has gone to the next level.
Reducing his PK minutes would be wise. That could come with a decline in effectiveness of the shorthanded crew, since Fox is able to pivot on a dime and clear the puck. But, sometimes you need to lose the battle to win the war. Just as concerning though is Lindgren's performance, as he too has leveled off and more dramatically. He is somewhat undersized for his style of play, contributing to his physical ailments that may be driving his recent decline. This is where a better or more reliable third pair would help, as the burden on the top-four would be reduced. The goal is to have the players in peak shape for the playoffs. Once the team clinches a spot and possibly locks in their divisional spot, I could see Gallant resting players down the stretch.
The silver lining of the 5-2 loss Tuesday night at Minnesota is that the lopsided affair allowed head coach Gerard Gallant to limit Adam Fox’s ice time to 19:31. That was his lowest complement of the year, other than the 15:01 he got in the Jan. 27 match at Columbus, which he departed after the first shift of the third period with an upper-body injury.
Fox has played the seventh-most minutes in the NHL over the last two seasons, averaging 24:19 this season and 24:42 in 2020-21, which was a 56-game season. The game Thursday night at St. Louis will mark the Rangers’ 58th game, with 24 to go.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Fox has played 24:00 or more 32 times — and the wear has begun to show. He has made a few more mistakes than customary, both with and without the puck. He and faithful companion Ryan Lindgren have the third-best goals for and against percentage among pairs with 600:00 at 57.38 and ninth-best among tandems with at least 500:00 at five-on-five.
But the pair has been on for six for and seven against since Feb. 15. And, though expected goals for percentage can be subject to interpretation and should never be cited as a universal measure, it is instructive regarding trends. Lindgren and Fox are under 50 percent at 49.37, as opposed to the 57.08 from last season.
There are instances when Fox is trying to do a little too much. He is getting caught a bit more often, lacking the sheer foot speed to negate errors. There is also far more attention being paid to No. 23 by the opposition. The focus on game-planning against the third-year pro will only increase as the games become more important. He will find more forecheckers in his face.
Gallant could reduce Fox’s minutes by using Braden Schneider in his place on selected penalty-kill assignments. Fox is getting 2:16 per on the PK, second to Lindgren’s 2:22. Schneider is at 0:43. That is an area which Gallant (and assistant coach Gord Murphy, who oversees the PK) should address.
Does what Brooks said about
Panarin surprise you? He has looked too ordinary at times, and even with that, he still is posting posts. But the ability to dominate and create has been lacking, which could be driven by who he has on his right wing.
Style wise, you have read me rail on the lack of breakout passes and ability to create off the rush. The structure that Gallant has implemented is the north-south style of play that David Quinn was railing for the last few years. While that hasn't fully resulted in better defensive play, the hope/belief/expectation is that this will make New York harder to face in the playoffs.
I agree with this, but using a north-south style should not fully impede deploying an east-west attack periodically and creating off the rush. We saw it in Chris Kreider's goal last week, more attempts in that direction, within the structure, would allow for additional creativity and also make New York even harder to play against.
Plus, just because he might feel "constrained," doesn't mean he is chafing with that style or upset with Gallant. It's adapting his skills to the structure, but also the structure adapting to the skills of the players. If this persists, especially after the deadline when an uplift of talent should be imported, then my concern level will rise accordingly. For now, it's a blip on the radar but one that raises me from Defcon 5 to Defcon 4.
This is a recording. Something is off with Artemi Panarin, who somehow has gone 13 straight games, since Jan. 27 at Columbus, without scoring a five-on-five goal. He also has one in the past 22 games and two in the past 29. He is scoring 0.5 goals per 60:00, the lowest five-on-five rate of his seven-season career, well below the 0.9 from last season and the 1.2 from 2019-20.
Panarin has looked ordinary too much of the time. Effervescence and explosiveness have been lacking in his game. Precision passes through traffic are not getting through. There are far too many turnovers at the offensive line. He has been hesitant. Allowing for the fact that this sensitive son of Russia may have much on his mind, this has been an ongoing issue for months.
Several sources have suggested that Panarin may feel constrained playing for Gallant, whose system is more structured than that of predecessor David Quinn, with an emphasis on chipping pucks out of the zone on the breakout. Hence, there are fewer home-run passes, fewer odd-man breaks through the neutral zone (unless triggered by Igor Shesterkin) and less open ice on which Panarin can work.
If there is truly an issue here, it must be resolved. The Rangers can bolster their third line, they can add depth on defense, but if Panarin is a pedestrian, the Blueshirts will be going nowhere.
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