Here are the latest rumblings around Rangerstown.

Gorton Adds Veteran Defenseman

On Tuesday, the Rangers traded defenseman Steven Kampfer, along with two draft picks, to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Adam McQuaid.

This is a low-risk move by Gorton. McQuaid brings a hard-nosed style of play to the Rangers blue line, something which they haven’t had on the back end in a couple of years. The Rangers gave up a utility blue-liner in order to bring McQuaid to Broadway, a player that will be solid in the bottom pair. The one downside to this deal is that it keeps one of the young budding talents from earning a roster spot out of camp. Guys like Gilmour, Pionk, Lindgren, Hajek, even Brendan Smith who spent most of last season in Hartford, will be battling for a spot in David Quinn’s lineup. McQuaid’s contract is up at the end of the season, which means that he is likely a trade chip for Gorton come the February trade-deadline.

Baby Blueshirts Return From Traverse City

The Rangers prospects finished up the Traverse City prospects tournament in disappointing fashion, dropping the final two games to Detroit and St. Louis. 2018 roster hopefuls Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil, Libor Hajek, and Brett Howden we’re all held out of the final game of the tournament as they get set for training camp.

Kreider Discusses Blood Clots From Last Season

In speaking with Dan Rosen of NHL.com, Rangers forward Chris Kreider recounted his blood clot last season and how recovering from the injury has given him a “new lease on life.

Training camp is just days away so make sure you stay tuned to Forever Blueshirts for all your Rangers coverage!

In speaking with Magnus Nyström of Expressen, Fredrik Claesson reflected on his time in Ottawa, signing with the Blueshirts and more.

As has been well publicized around the NHL, the Ottawa Senators had some locker room issues this past season. Now that he is with the Rangers, Claesson opened up about the effects it had on the Senators locker room. “It touched everyone on the team. It was very unpleasant.” When asked further about the setting in Ottawa, “It was a very weird season. I’ve never been [involved in] anything like that.”

Shifting gears to New York, Claesson said that coming to the Rangers was not a very hard decision. “I think everyone in the league wants to play in New York sometime. I have been there many times, but it will be different to live there. It’s sick.” Claesson went on to say that he is excited to join the Rangers. “The team feels exciting with new coaches and several new players, so everyone starts at zero in training camp, it’s good for me. Then there are several Swedes there, and I and Mika Zibanejad have played together in Djurgården.” Finally, the 25-year-old Swede expressed his excitement about calling MSG his new home. “It’s a cool feeling to play there, it’s like playing at a big theater. So to have it like home, it feels very fun.”

Claesson’s spot in David Quinn’s lineup is not guaranteed with the Rangers already having a solid foundation on their blue line. With Brady Skjei, Marc Staal, and Kevin Shattenkirk already locked in on the Rangers back-end, the Rangers have three spots for a handful of players including Neal Pionk, John Gilmour, Brendan Smith, Anthony DeAngelo, Libor Hajek, Steven Kampfer, and more. If Claesson can prove himself in training camp, he would be a nice piece in David Quinn’s arsenal.

Editor’s Note: All quotes from Expressen translated with Google Translate and Interglot. To read the original article, click here.

One of the disappointments that was certainly the most surprising, was defenseman Brady Skjei. He vastly underperformed, on a team that was faltering and failing in all areas on the ice.

Skjei is a restricted free agent this offseason, but he should be a shoe-in re-sign for the Rangers. John Gilmour, Rob O’Gara, and Ryan Sproul are also free agents this summer alongside Skjei. I see Gilmour getting a contract, but O’Gara and Sproul probably won’t. You can check out my article on who will be in the defensive pairings in 2018, here.

But, after this unfortunate season, Skjei will come back and will bounce back next season. He is growing into a definitive player with unimaginable potential, and with limitless opportunity to use him for the rebuild, this next season will be very important.  

It can’t get much worse than 2017-18

Skjei had a disastrous plus/minus rating of -27 last season. Coupled with 62 turnovers, his campaign was a nightmare. Despite all of the negative marks on his stat line, Skjei was still AV’s go to guy starting in the offensive zone 56.0% of the time.

This could certainly change with the change in coaching, but his skill is far too valuable to not use. It doesn’t make sense to shelter his ability now, like his skating ability below, when there are so many other uncertainties with the rebuild.  

Full year with Kevin Shattenkirk

Brady Skjei saw time with multiple defensive partners over the course of the season. He had time with Shattenkirk, Tony DeAngelo, Neal Pionk and Steven Kampfer, with each of them changing almost nightly. Finding chemistry with a solid partner to his right would make the taste of this bad season vanish quickly.

Kevin Shattenkirk only had a half-season with the Rangers before going out with an injury. His time to grow chemistry with Skjei was limited, but that shouldn’t be of concern. Both of these defensemen are viable with the puck and could compliment each other. Next season is an opportunity for these two to grow and lead this young defensive core.  

Come October, Skjei and Shattenkirk will hold the top pairing of the blueline, and with time, be a productive force. Both of these players have high-level ability to move the puck up-ice, with speed, and can create offensive chances. Both of these players had at least half of their shots going through the defense and on net, with Shattenkirk at 50% and Skjei at 54.1%.

Growing Pains

Skjei is entering year four of NHL play, and with having played nearly every game of the last two seasons, he has shown that his durability isn’t a problem. Everything else can be fixed.

Turnovers and irresponsible plays around the front of the goaltender were seen throughout this past season, but these things can be worked on. He has shown an ability to play night in and night out at maximum effort, and in the end, despite the terrible stats, it wasn’t all bad.

He has shown great strides in his short time in the toughest city to play. Expectations will always be high in New York, how can they not be, but he needs time to adjust. Skjei is now among the veterans on the team at the young age of 24, and that is tough shoes to fill. The only other defensemen to shadow and learn from are Shattenkirk and Staal.

Looking Ahead

This offseason will be the most important of Skjei’s young career, and the first step will be to re-sign with the New York Rangers. Then it will be getting ready for a season where your team is expected to not make a playoff appearance. Finally, it will be season four, featuring Skjei bouncing back and showcasing shades of his rookie season with this young team.

Brady Skjei is a much better player than this past season. It was a hiccup in his career but a necessary one. He and the rest of the New York Rangers will learn from last season and use this rebuilding time to reproduce the organization’s recent run of success.

The 2018-19 season will be focused on a full rebuild, but the defense should relatively remain the same. The primary pieces are in place at the moment and the only real change is those coming back from injury. So without further ado, here is my prediction of the 2018-19 New York Rangers defensemen.

Gilmour – Shattenkirk

Skjei – DeAngelo

Staal – Pionk

Kampfer

First Pairing

John Gilmour and a healthy Kevin Shattenkirk can bolster the current offensively deficient blue line.

Gilmour has been used a lot in offensive zone starts with 57.1%, so obviously it would make sense to match him with someone as adequate on offense as Shattenkirk.

Shattenkirk, if he was able to maintain a healthy season, would have helped significantly with offensive production. In his half-season, he got 50% of his 188 shot attempts on goal and started in the offensive zone 65% of the time.

Having a solid scoring first line of defense is something the Rangers haven’t had since Brian Leetch and Sergei Zubov in 1993-94. Originally, we all thought the tandem of McDonagh and Shatty would have all implications of a solid pair, an offensive-defenseman paired with a slightly more defensive-defenseman, but that didn’t work.

The future will be trial and error, and adjustments will be made if it doesn’t work. Let’s give these two offensive-defensemen a shot to put numbers on the board and take advantage of offensive zone draws.

Second Pairing

Brady Skjei and Tony DeAngelo are two guys that can advance the puck 200 feet, in an instant.

Skjei’s year hasn’t gone the way that anyone expected. He currently holds a -23 and is among the team’s worst in giveaways at 59. But there were still some valuable upsides to his game. Skjei got 53.5% of his shots through to the opposing netminder and has helped dish out 20 assists.

DeAngelo would still be in the Rangers lineup if he did not suffer that terrible injury a few weeks ago. He has shown ability with stickhandling the puck and quickly moving all around the ice. In his 32 appearances with the Blueshirts, his CF% was at 50.2%, got an incredible 63.6% of the shots through and 66.5% of his shifts started in the offensive zone. This doesn’t go without saying that DeAngelo needs to improve significantly. His PDO is the lowest of the D-men at a painstakingly low 93.8%.

Third Pairing

This is where I feel the Rangers have the most freedom to switch things around. Each of these three can be interchangeable.

I originally wrote that Staal would be a second line player but now I can see, he is not that anymore. His game is getting slower, and with that, his time must be cut. Even if he is slowing down, doesn’t mean he can’t still be effective. He is having a reputable season, despite the free fall that a lot of these other Rangers defensemen have had.  

With Staal, Steven Kampfer is another veteran player, which the Rangers have very few of. Kampfer only appeared in 22 games this season before going out with an injury. In that time, he underperformed but had a lot of defensive zone starts at 59.7%. With the above lines pertaining to offense and puck control, Kampfer and Staal on a line to lock down defensive situations is a smart move. He is under contract for one more season, and should be used before his contract is null and void.

The final d-man on line three is Neal Pionk. Pionk has spent a lot of time on a line with Staal since his recall from Hartford, so the chemistry has been established. He has spent the second most time on the team in defensive zone starts, behind (shocker) Staal at 60.5%. Pionk has shown offensive flourishes as well, with dishing out 13 assists and scoring a goal in 25 games.

What about Sproul, O’Gara, and Smith?

Sproul and O’gara will become free agents at the end of this season, and based off of their overall performance, they should part ways with the Rangers. Brendan Smith is under contract for another three seasons, so his place with the Rangers organization, for now, isn’t going anywhere. 

As I stated before, Sproul just haven’t shown enough in his 13 appearances to merit a re-sign. His oiSV% is the second lowest among Rangers D-men at 89.1%, which is a definite negative. You can check out my article on Sproul here.

O’Gara on the other hand has been adequate, but again, hasn’t been around enough to show something spectacular. His CA% is at 42%, the second lowest on the team behind Pionk. The only difference being that Pionk has a substantial amount of more shots on net then O’Gara. In only six more games, Pionk has put 49 more shot attempts on net.

Smith was waived from the Rangers on February 8, but wasn’t claimed. He’s been with Hartford since and hasn’t done too well in his 11 games there. Finishing with only two assists in those 11 appearances, he also had a dismal -11. He could come up to the lines above in case of injuries or someone mentioned above underperforming, but for now he will more than likely spend his time in Hartford until he improves.

As it stands right now, the defensive core of this team is very young. Only Marc Staal, Kevin Shattenkirk and Steven Kampfer eclipse the age of 26 on this current roster. Skjei is still young at 24 and has incredible potential as a two-way defender.

This season has certainly not gone as well as his rookie campaign. Nevertheless, he is leading the defense in points. The return of Shattenkirk will be crucial as Skjei will probably move to the left side of him.

As for the financials, he is definitely not worth $5 million AAV, especially after this season. As Phil Kocher of The Hockey Writers wrote, “In many ways, the Rangers may have even benefited from his second-season slip. Skjei’s particularly poor outing this year in which his P/GP pace has fallen by nearly 50% from his rookie season have probably knocked a few shekels off his asking price.”

In my eyes, he should be around a mid-to-high three, maybe even low four range, and for four years. Give him enough time to grow through the rebuild and come out of it with an opportunity to prove himself in those last two seasons.

He has stayed relatively healthy for these first two seasons, only missing two games as a rookie and appearing in all 71 so far this season. That durability is key to the rebuild, as the Rangers cannot afford to be playing with one or two down defensemen.

Skjei has the ability to move the puck up the ice and counterattack. Evident in this clip, Skjei muscles off the defender around his own net, finds an open lane and takes it. This leads to a mad dash up ice to create a positive scoring chance.

This still doesn’t go without saying, the guy makes mistakes, often times very costly ones. But, the positives from him outweigh the negatives. He will be 24 at the end of this month and has only logged two seasons in the NHL. Give Skjei a chance to work on his game and build chemistry with the up and coming defensemen as well as some of the veterans like Staal and Shattenkirk.

Rebuild What??

Clearly no one has told the Rangers that they are supposed to be rebuilding.  Since the Rangers had their press conference and sent out a letter to season ticket holders explaining the rebuild, the Rangers have gone 2-0.  With Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Marc Staal all out it appeared as if it was going to be a long day for the Rangers.

1st Period

Early in the 1st period the Rangers appeared as if they were taking the “tank” to heart.  Within 24 seconds the Jets appeared to open the scoring with a slap shot that got past Henrik Lundqvist.  However, after a review, it was determined that the Jets were offside.  The tie score was short lived as less than a minute later, Nikolaj Ehlers blasted a goal past Lundqvist from the high circle.

Now the Jets actually score. Nikolaj Ehlers puts the Jets up 1-0 #NYR pic.twitter.com/dJINyJKlKH

— Fitz (@FitzyGSN) February 11, 2018

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The rest of the period was a dominant effort by the Jets as they relentlessly pounded the Rangers with chance after chance and shot after shot.  Henrik Lundqvist with a little help from Steven Kampfer, managed to keep the score tied until the Rangers were able to strike back.  With just over a minute remaining Mats Zuccarello squeaked a shot past Connor Hellebucyk to tie the game.  The goal was Zucc’s first goal in almost 3 decades.

#ZUUUUUUUUUUUC squeaks it in to tie the game at 1! #NYR #LGR pic.twitter.com/usuKrNTV3X

— Forever Blueshirts Gameday (@4BNYRGameday) February 11, 2018

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The reactions to the 1st period were quite accurate.

They may have had us for the first 19 minutes, but don’t panic NYR fans. We OWNED them the last 60 seconds! Great save on DD or laughably we would’ve been up 2-1 end on 1.

— NYSports4Life (@BleedNYCBlue) February 11, 2018

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2nd Period

In what was a tale of two periods, the Rangers came out swinging in the second.  Although the Rangers did not score in the second, they did put 18 shots on net to the Jets 10.  The biggest events of the period were 6, yes 6 penalties split 4-2, between the Jets and Rangers.  After crushing Nikolaj Ehlers in the corner, Cody McLeod served a 2 minute minor and then immediately fought Matt Hendricks after returning to the ice.

Cody McLeod and Matt Hendricks go at it. Could see this coming. McLeod cuts Hendricks, Hendricks gets the knockdown #NYR pic.twitter.com/UA1pbuPAFW

— Fitz (@FitzyGSN) February 11, 2018

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3rd Period

After dominating the 2nd period the Rangers came out and immediately took two penalties courtesy of JT Miller.  However, the Rangers weathered the storm and held the Jets onslaught off until the Rangers scored the go ahead goal off a Brady Skjei shot that deflected off of Jimmy Vesey for a 2-1 lead.

Easy Peasy Jimmy Vesey! 2-1 RANGERS!! #NYR #LGR #VeseyDoesIt pic.twitter.com/vZGzcz2Xzh

— Forever Blueshirts Gameday (@4BNYRGameday) February 11, 2018

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The Rangers continued to survive as the Jets put 17 shots on net in the 3rd and with 43 seconds left in the game Michael Grabner iced the game with his 23rd goal of the season.

EMPTY NETTER MICHAEL GRABNER!! RANGERS WIN 3-1!!!! #NYR #LGR pic.twitter.com/69er5Ddudj

— Forever Blueshirts Gameday (@4BNYRGameday) February 11, 2018

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The game ended 3-1 in favor of the Rangers and was the Rangers second straight victory.  The Rangers are now 2-0 in the “rebuild era”.

Up Next

Next up for the Rangers are the Minnesota Wild (30-19-6) on Tuesday Night at 8PM EST in Minnesota.

(Featured Photo courtesy of NY Daily News)

The New York Rangers are looking to continue their climb upwards as they take on the Buffalo Sabres at home. The last matchup between these two teams went into overtime, as J.T. Miller scored the winner on the power play to defeat Buffalo in the 2018 Bridgestone Winter Classic. The Blueshirts are fresh off a phenomenal 5-1 win against the Flyers on Tuesday night. That win puts the Rangers at 51 points, just enough to sit in the first wild-card spot in the Metropolitan division. The Sabres are entering tonight’s contest winners of their previous contest versus Columbus, topping them 3-1, last Thursday. Buffalo is currently last in the Atlantic division with 31 points.

Key to Victory

Consistent Team Effort = Wins – Tuesday’s win versus the Flyers showed everyone that the Rangers are still open for business. What was considered a dark last few games, the Rangers effort and compete level was questioned, as they made egregious mistakes in their losses to Vegas, the Islanders and, Penguins. All that seemed to go out the window Tuesday, as they kept a tight, solid defensive effort in front of Henrik Lundqvist, as well as making smart plays to generate offense. In a time where every game is a must win, the Rangers came through and kept themselves from sinking further into the abyss. Tonight, the Rangers will need the same laser sharp focus against Buffalo. Although they are last in their division, the Sabres are not a team to take lightly. Players like Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and Evander Kane can make a difference. The Blueshirts will need that same all-around effort tonight as they play their last home game of the month before an important West Coast road trip.

Practice Report

https://twitter.com/stevezipay/status/953691458556579840

Marc Staal is day to day with a strained hip flexor injury. Alain Vigneault claims Staal’s injury won’t be long, and anticipates that he will be ready for the trip out West. Steve Kampfer will play in his place.

“I don’t expect it to be long,” Vigneault said, who added that Steve Kampfer will rejoin the lineup for Thursday and that the team’s defensive pairs were still be worked on. Matt Calamia/NY Rangers.com

Kevin Hayes is close to returning but will be out of the lineup tonight versus Buffalo. Hayes was injured in the game versus the Islanders with a contusion.

Like Staal, Vigneault said forward Kevin Hayes (contusion) is day-to-day. Vigneault said Hayes worked out off the ice on Wednesday and is “coming along” and is “real close to skating.”

After Thursday, the Rangers head west to face the Avalanche in Colorado before three games in California, beginning Sunday in Los Angeles. Vigneault said a recall would be needed if both – especially Staal – were not close to returning to the lineup.

“I would think by Friday I’m going to know if Marc is good,” he said. “Right now, we’ve got 12 healthy forwards and six healthy D. Hartford is close by for tomorrow, so if we need something at the last minute, it shouldn’t be an issue. By Friday, we’ll practice and know if both Kevin and Marc are practicing or close to. [If they’re] close to [but] not quite there, we might have to call somebody up. If they’re close we’ll play it day-by-day.”  Matt Calamia/NY Rangers.com

Players To Watch

New York Rangers

Rick Nash – Simply put, the Rangers need Rick Nash to produce. Although he’s shown strong poise with the puck in many games this year, he could not find the back of the net. That changed Tuesday night as Nash netted two goals in a rout of the Philadelphia Flyers. After the Flyers took a quick lead, Nash tied it 4:24 later with his tenth goal of the season and his first since December 15. New linemate Pavel Buchnevich set up Nash for the breakaway goal with a stretch pass between two Flyers defensemen and promptly snapped it with a strong shot past Brian Elliot. He would add another goal on a 2v1 with 2:32 remaining in the second period of that game to extend the lead to 5-1. Nash was active, strong on the puck and solid in his own zone. This is the Nash the Rangers will need to show up on the ice tonight against the Sabres

Buffalo Sabres

Kyle Okposo – In a season that has gone wrong for Buffalo, Kyle Okposo seems like a bright spot for the Sabres. Night after night, Kyle Okposo is in the thick of things for Buffalo, and that was evident in their win over Columbus last Thursday. Okposo tallied an assist and scored the game winning goal by sweeping a loose puck into an unattended net 7:18 into the third period past Sergei Bobrovsky. Although he only has 24 points on the season, Okposo is a strong, two-way forward who can score when needed. Rangers fans are familiar with this notion, due to his many seasons on Long Island. Look for him to try and make an impact, as Buffalo tries their hardest to creep out of the cellar.

Puck drops at 730!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

Coming into the season the New York Rangers were filled with questions; Who will be the third line center? Will the signing of Kevin Shattenkirk pay off? Can Mika Zibanejad be a number one center?

After two months the question now is, “who are the New York Rangers?” The answer is rather difficult. The team has had good wins against the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings this month, while also having bad losses to the Ottawa Senators and Dallas Stars. At times, the Rangers have looked extremely good, such as against the Devils, and have looked dreadful, like against the Senators and Stars.

The team is currently third in the Metropolitan Division, holding the tiebreaker over the Blue Jackets for that final division spot. The Rangers rank sixth in goals for in the NHL, and tenth in goals against. Statistically speaking, the Rangers are a top team in the league. The game tape shows a vastly different story, so who are they?

Expectation vs. Reality

As long as Henrik Lundqvist is between the pipes, the expectation is the playoffs at the worst. On paper, coming into the season, there were some lofty goals, that while still obtainable, are unlikely. TSN has the Rangers as the 12th best team in the league and sixth best team in the conference.

When we watch the team on a nightly basis, are they actually the 12th best team? Personally, I see way too many flaws to have them ranked this high. On the other hand, statistically, a team that ranks sixth and seventh respectively in power play and penalty kill percentage, is a scary team to play against.

The numbers add up, so what’s the outlier? One outlier is the home vs road record. The team is 13-5-3 at home and 5-7 on the road. As a perfect microcosm of the season, the Rangers are a +18 in goal differential at home and -5 on the road. How is this possible? I’m not sure. They are first in goals for at home and 27th on the road. It is a conundrum that epitomizes their play this season.

Who are they?

The Rangers went 5-2-1 while Mika Zibanejad was out. Most teams that are considered ‘deep’ wouldn’t be able to collect eleven points in eight games while their number one center is out. Then again, most teams cannot go 4-7-2 in the first month and find themselves in the thick of the playoff race. The Rangers are a strange team, they are not as high as their highs but they are also not as low as their lows. In a strange way, the shootout loss to the Stars was a gritty game; where they found a way to score late to gain a point. Are the Rangers fooling everyone with success or was their slow start a case of early season jitters?

To me, the Rangers are a team that has relied on strong goaltending and constant adjustments by the defensemen. The offense was there from the beginning and the key was keeping the puck out of the net, not putting it in the net. Brendan Smith’s struggles have certainly hurt the team, but the improved play of Nick Holden has balanced it out. If we were told that Steven Kampfer, Paul Carey, and Boo Nieves would play a key role in the Rangers season, all hope would have been lost; but here we are.

The questions leading up to the season have been answered, somewhat. At some point, we will truly know who exactly the New York Rangers are. In the meantime the only thing to do is enjoy the ride.

Here is our Quick Hits recap of the Rangers 6-1 win over the Hurricanes.

KZB Line – Perhaps the Rangers most consistent line all season, the trio of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and Pavel Buchnevich combined for three goals and an assist to lead the Blueshirts in this one. Chris Kreider got the party started just 52 seconds into the first period. Kreider finished off a beautiful passing play that saw the puck go from JT Miller to Brendan Smith to Kreider, who snapped it into the back of a half-open net.

https://twitter.com/NHLDaily365/status/933491952296873985

Just 90 seconds later, after a brutal turnover by Kevin Shattenkirk that saw the ensuing shot saved by Henrik Lundqvist, Zibanejad scored one of the rarer goals you’ll ever see. After the aforementioned save, Brady Skjei passed the puck up to Zibanejad who was looking for a change. The dump-in, which was intentionally on net, handcuffed Hurricanes goalie Scott Darling and found it’s way into the net. A goal that Mika will be thankful for on Thanksgiving.

For an encore, Kreider finished off a great zone entry on the PP early in the third period; this time just 20 seconds into the final frame. Zuccarello took the pass from Zibanejad as he was skating across the neutral zone, raced in and fed a backhand bullet to Kreider, who was able to put it past Darling on the far post.

https://twitter.com/NHLDaily365/status/933521999279874049

Even after all this, the line still generated a few chances late in the game. Yet, Pavel Buchnevich was too busy trying to get Kreider his hat-trick to shoot the puck himself. This line has been producing all season, and they made sure to continue that production in this one.

Jesper Fast – One of the hardest-working players in the NHL, Jesper Fast’s name won’t usually appear on the scoresheet. But in this one, Fast found the back of the net twice. For his first goal, Fast took the beautiful saucer pass from Kevin Hayes and shot it by Darling. His second goal came after a pinch from Steven Kampfer, who found Fast across the ice for a one-time blast into the back of the net. Whenever Jesper Fast scores, I get a warm feeling inside. His play in the corners and his no-quit attitude is something that largely goes unnoticed, but there was no denying his impact on this game.

https://twitter.com/NHLDaily365/status/933522281036382208

Fourth Line – The Rangers fourth line of Jimmy Vesey, Boo Nieves and Paul Carey was noticeable as well against the Hurricanes. Carey notched his first goal with the Blueshirts after cleaning up a rebound in front of the net. Vesey had a takeaway and five shots on goal, which doesn’t include the post he hit. Vesey is doing all of the right things and eventually, the pucks will start tickling the twine.

Team Defense – With team captain Ryan McDonagh out with an abdominal strain, the Rangers needed the rest of their defensive group to step up. And step up they did. Brendan Smith seems to have shaken off the rust, picking up an assist and was a +4 on the night. Kampfer had a solid outing as well, also notching an assist and had three hits. Nick Holden was a +4, and Marc Staal had three blocked shots. This was one of the best defensive games the Rangers have had all season, and if Ryan McDonagh comes back healthy, this defense could finally turn into the one we were all expecting at season’s start.

Special Teams – As I mentioned in my pregame periscope, special teams were going to be important in this game. And while it was a blowout in the end, this game could have easily been a lot closer had it not been for the Rangers penalty kill. Even though they did surrender one to the Hurricanes, the Rangers shorthanded units stood tall against the next four Carolina man-advantage situations.

Henrik Lundqvist – They say your best penalty killer has to be your goaltender. Well, King Henrik proved that statement true. Lundqvist made 32 saves on 33 shots, including 11 saves while the Blueshirts were down a man. And no save was more impressive than this one on Jordan Staal. Henrik seems to be back in his groove now, and that can only mean trouble for the rest of the NHL.

Next Game: The Blueshirts will look to win their third straight game on Friday night when they host the Red Wings. Puck drops at 7!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

The Rangers look to get themselves back on track tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blueshirts enter this contest after falling flat on their faces during the third period of their game Wednesday night against Chicago. This should be a good matchup between two hungry teams looking to pick up some much-needed points.

Since we last saw the two teams face off against one another, the Blue Jackets dropped their next two games against Nashville and Carolina, before winning their last two games outside of regulation, defeating Detroit in overtime, and Montreal in a shootout Tuesday night.

As for the Rangers, they had their winning streak snapped on Wednesday night after a lackluster effort against the Blackhawks, which featured their bad defensive habits from the month of October. Luckily, the Rangers have a quick turn around to right these wrongs, as they get set to face a division rival.

What to Watch For

Rangers Reset their Power Play: The Rangers power play also struggled mightily against the Blackhawks, unable to get themselves set up in the offensive zone. The Rangers need to work on getting themselves back to basics and focus hard on getting into their setup, and then the attack. Because a good powerplay isn’t good without the proper setup, and as we saw Wednesday night, if you can’t get set, you’re not going to score with the man-advantage.

Defense: The Rangers defense didn’t have many proud moments on Wednesday night, especially in the third period when the Blackhawks poured on three goals in 2:45. The Rangers defense struggled mightily, especially when defending the top players from the Blackhawks. But that’s in the past now, and it’s time to see how they respond. The Rangers defense has the right to be heavily criticized, but it is up to them to fix their issues and respond accordingly.

https://twitter.com/stevezipay/status/931588562318970880

Speed Kills: The Rangers speed is notorious for hurting the opposition in many ways including, causing the opponents to not be able to get into their defensive set properly, causing mismatches and beating the opposition to loose pucks. The Rangers were matched after an intermission adjustment by the Blackhawks, causing their speed to be stymied. However, the Rangers will need to find a way to counter-attack and go for a “quick strike” goal when the opportunities are there. Look for speedsters Michael Grabner and Chris Kreider to use their speed to their advantage, leading to mishaps by the Blue Jackets, and most importantly lead to positives for the Rangers.

News and Notes

The moment we’ve all (okay maybe all of us) been waiting for:

So with that being said, Kampfer will go back to watching games from up above. While he has been serviceable in the games he has played in (minus Wednesday night, but no one on the defensive side of the puck looked good) it’s time to see how Smith has adjusted to his time off.

Has the extra work he’s put in at practice helped? Does he have a better mindset going into the games? Will he be what we remembered?

Time will tell, but baby steps. You can read about our thoughts on Smith returning to the lineup, here. and here.

https://youtu.be/TTljhg5cd2Q

Who to Watch

For the Rangers side, watch for the KZB line to have a bounce-back game defensively. After having a lapse in defensive judgment in the third period that led to the Blackhawks taking the lead for good, the trio was limited to just seven shifts during the third period. While it’s important to help make an example of a line if they’re not performing, they are your top line for a reason. They need to go back to playing a simple defensive game, and if they do that, they’ll succeed.

For the Blue Jackets, watch for Artemi Panarin. While he only has three goals so far this year, two of them came against the Rangers. Acquired from the Blackhawks during the offseason, Panarin hasn’t truly found his scoring touch quite yet, unless it’s against the Rangers. Look for him to continue his successful ways against the Rangers.

Scouting the Competition

Follow, Rob Mixer who gives his insight to 1st Ohio Battery for the Blue Jackets.

As always follow our family of Twitter Handles for game day tweets, and game day analysis, @4BNYRGameday and @TiltedIce!

LETS GO RANGERS!!