Rangers’ familiar third-line issues taking toll on playoff hopes
The New York Rangers are dealing with a new crisis in this frustrating mess of a season – although the issue really isn’t new at all.
Like a boat that’s less than seaworthy, leaks keep appearing and needing to be plugged. As with any leak, a permanent fix is required or the problem will resurface as some point.
The latest crack the Blueshirts ship is facing is the third line, which like it did last season, has devolved into a sinkhole of uncertain personnel use and little production. That the dilemma re-emerged after the departure of regular No. 3 center Filip Chytil should hardly have been a surprise.
The excitement over the acquisition of top-line pivot J.T. Miller on Jan. 31 has largely worn off, with the reality of the cost of the move becoming increasingly obvious. While no one would harbor regrets over the obtaining of Miller as a linchpin of general manager Chris Drury’s ongoing renovation of the roster, the deal cost the Rangers Chytil, whose skill set at least gave the team an anchor to build a third forward unit around.
With Chytil now playing for the Vancouver Canucks, coach Peter Laviolette has watched as any impact from his third line has stalled. Without a clear option to center the line, or a clear sense of what he’s looking for from the unit, Laviolette has cycled through personnel to little success.
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The coach has tried depth players Jonny Brodzinski and newcomer Juuso Parssinen in the middle of the line, neither of whom stuck. Recently, he’s moved Sam Carrick, a revelation as a low-cost fourth-line center this season, up to 3C, where he’s miscast. Wingers from Chris Kreider to Arthur Kaliyev to Brennan Othmann to Brett Berard have taken spins on the third line. None of it has worked.
The frustration for Laviolette over this issue is all too familiar. Last season, the loss of Chytil to a suspected concussion for almost all of 2023-24 left the coach in the same spot, as Brodzinski and others tried in vain to create a cohesive, effective unit that could at least contribute some offense. The opening was only somewhat patched with the trade-deadline acquisition of Alex Wennberg, who provided stability in the middle of the line but not much in the way of scoring (his overtime goal in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final notwithstanding).
This time around, Chytil is gone for good, and with the trade deadline having passed, the Rangers are left with internal options, none of which evoke confidence in them being the solution.
Laviolette and the front office received a painful reminder of what they’re missing in the 2-1 loss to the NHL-best Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday – the fourth in a row (0-2-2) for a Blueshirts team that’s struggling to keep pace in the race for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot. The Jets boast a sturdy third line, made up of 6-foot-5, 210-pound two-way center Adam Lowry, 6-2, 218-pound left wing Nino Niederreiter and right wing Mason Appleton.
The Jets employ that line as a shutdown unit, with the big and physical Lowry ideal for going head-to-head with top NHL centers, winning 52.0 percent of his face-offs this season. Niederreiter, like Lowry an elite defensive forward, served in the same role during his three-plus seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, teaming with center Jordan Staal and former Ranger wing Jesper Fast on a dominant matchup third line.
All three players also provide offense. Lowry has 14 goals and 15 assists this season, Niederreiter has 30 points and Appleton 19. The trio has posted a 51.1 expected goal share, and Winnipeg has outscored opponents 20-9 with the line on at 5-on-5 while out-chancing teams 97-84, per Natural Stat Trick. It’s hardly a coincidence that the Jets are by far the League’s best defensive outfit, allowing 2.3 goals per game.
It’s the kind of third line that the Rangers have never been able to construct – one with a clear purpose and dimension that the Blueshirts desperately need. Even with Chytil, questions persisted about whether the club required what amounted to a third offensive unit instead of a checking trio to take on opposing top lines.
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Now, Drury isn’t any closer to forging such a group than he was last season, when stellar play from the top line of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere helped to paper over the lack of bottom-six depth — especially the glaring matter of the third line.
The avenues for coach and GM to fix this for the final 17 regular-season games are limited and known. Parssinen was viewed as an intriguing prospect when he arrived as part of the Ryan Lindgren trade March 1, but he lasted a couple of games as the 3C before Laviolette moved him to the wing, and then out of the lineup. Kaliyev’s mostly nondescript 14 games in a Blueshirt have illustrated why the Los Angeles Kings waived him in January.
Brodzinski remains nothing more than a solid depth option, one who’s failed to nail down a steady role when given chances to do so over the past several seasons. And Laviolette would benefit the lineup by putting Carrick back on the fourth line with Matt Rempe, as that unit is the team’s only one that can maintain a consistent forecheck and cycle effectively in the offensive zone.
Like so many of the Rangers’ structural and cultural problems, the third forward unit’s ongoing lack of identity and meaningful production will have to be dealt with in the offseason. Perhaps a summer call to Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff about old friend Morgan Barron might be a course of action for Drury as he seeks a big, tough center to build a Winnipeg-esque third line.
Drury, of course, has bigger offseason matters to address. If he doesn’t get around to addressing this one, however, the hole is going to keep letting in water indefinitely – dragging the Rangers downward with it.
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