Elsa/Getty Images

Elsa/Getty Images

Tonight is opening night, and if you haven’t caught the systems preview, you should. The Rangers are in St. Louis tonight, Columbus on Saturday, and then open at home on Sunday against Toronto. Chris is hung up at work, so you all have to suffer through a musings with me.

  • There are a lot of questions about the center depth for this club. It’s something I brought up last month, and that was before the injury to Derek Stepan. The fact is that the Rangers have a winger playing center (Martin St. Louis), and a rookie as the pivot for the third line. Even when Stepan returns, you have the same concern about J.T. Miller’s future at 3C, and whether or not Derick Brassard can handle 2C competition.
  • As for Miller, the reason why I think he’s best off as a winger is because of the defensive responsibilities of the center position compared to the wing. He’s been vastly improved this season, but until he proves he can handle the defensive responsibilities on a consistent basis, there will be questions about his ability to play 3C and the Rangers center depth as a whole.

  • Despite the questions at center, the Rangers are incredibly deep at wing. Remember, this is a team that has Ryan Malone –who had a strong preseason– as a healthy scratch. Anthony Duclair and Lee Stempniak round out a solid third line that should see plenty of OZ starts, which will put them in more opportune scoring situations. Chris Kreider, Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello, and Carl Hagelin round out the wing strength, and that doesn’t even include MSL returning to the off-wing once Stepan returns.
  • Duclair is an interesting situation: He won’t stick if he doesn’t play in the top-nine. But if he does, then the Rangers have a difficult decision to make in their lineup. MSL shifts back to RW, presumably putting Rick Nash as the 2LW with Brass and Zucc. Can Hagelin play the off-wing, bumping Stempniak to 4LW? Can Duclair? Do you move Hags to the 4LW spot, and bump Glass from the lineup?
  • I think, of all the prospects that made the club, the only player that has really secured his spot in his role is Jesper Fast. He’s responsible defensively, he’s got offensive punch, and he can play difficult even strength and penalty kill minutes. Just remember, if the Rangers didn’t draft Bobby Sanguinetti, they don’t wind up with Fast (a nice consolation prize).
  • The fourth line, specifically Fast and Dominic Moore, might actually be an improvement from last year’s line. I think Fast > Derek Dorsett, and Moore is the constant. Glass is always a concern, but there are a few options to right the ship.
  • The defense will be fine, although the loss of Anton Stralman will hurt at even strength. His contributions on the powerplay should offset that though. TO the #fancystats folks: Is there a way to compare the ES loss to the PP gain to see what the net difference is?
  • Expect Cam Talbot to regress a bit. Backup goalies are usually around .910-.915 SV%, and he put up a .941 SV%. That’s not to say he will be bad, but he won’t be a Vezina winner.
  • Final note: Keep tabs on Pavel Buchnevich. The 19 year old is lighting up the KHL, and the season ends on February 24. His team will make the playoffs, but it is a definite possibility for the Rangers to add him for the playoffs, much like they did with Kreider in 2012. This won’t be possible if the Rangers don’t clear a contract by then, but definitely something to keep an eye on.

And now some questions:

  1. What are your Metro and Atlantic division predictions?
  2. Who will be the leading scorer on the team this year?
  3. Does Duclair stick with the club for the entire year?
  4. Will you be happy if the Rangers tread water (.500) while Stepan is out?

Happy Hockey Season!

Share: 

More About: