Watching the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs over the last two
weeks hasn’t made the sting of the Rangers elimination go away, but it has made
a couple things painfully obvious about the present roster.
We all know the Rangers lack the No. 1 center and offensive
talent to compete with the big boys, but they also are missing:
Defense involved with the offense. In literally every game of the second round,
defensemen have been jumping into the rush and pinching in the offensive zone
on a regular basis. It’s too hard to
generate scoring chances at this time of year with just three forwards - at
least one and usually two other offensive options are needed. To be fair, many of the remaining teams have
elite offensive defensemen setting the tone for their units. Zdeno Chara, Nicklas Lidstrom, Shea Weber,
and Chris Pronger all have been offensively skilled for years. But the Rangers’ defensive unit is hardly
adept at contributing offensively. Matt
Gilroy is the most offensive-minded guy on the Rangers’ blue line, but though
he showed a willingness to take the puck deep on his own, his in-zone instincts
are not impressive. Mike Sauer was
surprisingly willing to come down the boards as the season evolved, but his
actual offensive talent may be the weakest of the group. Ryan McDonagh has the skating ability to
suggest that he’ll be able to come deep into the offensive zone and still
recover, but he’s not close to that maturation point just yet. At times, Marc Staal appeared set on attacking
in the zone, and at others he seemed unwilling to do so. Dan Girardi will shoot all day from the
point, but he does not come down low often. Steve Eminger was also a complete non-threat. There’s potential for this group to become
much more willing participants in the Rangers’ offense, but at this stage
that’s not the case. The Rangers’
inability to score was obvious all season, but with an inactive offensive
defense, it would have been even worse in the second round.
An up-and-coming young scorer. James van Riemsdyk’s performance in last
night’s Flyers’ loss to the Boston Bruins was one for the ages. While there are only a handful of players in
the world capable of dominating at JVR’s level last from night, his play has
been representative of many non-superstars around the league. Logan Couture, Claude Giroux, and JVR have
been among the second and third line players that have been huge for their
teams as the playoffs have progressed. They
are the type of depth offensive players the Rangers lack. Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan broke out
in 2010-2011, but the reality is both have probably reached their offensive
ceilings. Though they’re both terrific
players, neither is the bona fide first line player they had to be this
season. Brian Boyle might have been the
closest thing the Rangers had to a strong depth scorer, and he was silent in
the season’s second half. That’s not to
say the Rangers don’t get contributions from guys like Brandon Prust, rather
that they’re asking too much of them. That the Flyers and Sharks have guys like JVR, Couture, and Giroux is in
stark contrast to the Rangers' complete lack of a top line. Rangers forwards were playing above their
heads all season, and it clearly cost the team. There’s plenty of time to speculate on whether Brad Richards will come
to New York
in July or not, but the truth is that the Blueshirts lack more than just
Richards up front. Perhaps Christian
Thomas or Chris Kreider will fill that scoring void in the next couple of years
but at the present time, the Rangers’ offense is still under the playoff par.
- Marian Gaborik scored in Slovakia’s
4-3 loss to Russia
today. Here’s the video. Looked a bit like the Gaborik of last season.
- Check out this offseason preview from Spector >
