Critically important. Ryan McDonagh. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Elsa/Getty Images

For the first time all season, the Rangers will dress a fully healthy squad. Captain Ryan McDonagh, injured since early this month with a separated shoulder, is set to return tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers. His return helps balance out the lineup on special teams as well as at even strength, but it goes far beyond the decision of who sits.

Matt Hunwick will be the odd-man out eventually (although John Moore is out tonight), which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. What should be a surprise is how effective Hunwick was while replacing insert injured Rangers defenseman name here. You certainly have your own way of finishing that last sentence, but Hunwick has been an unsung hero for the Rangers and their ability to tread water while dealing with injuries all year.

With Hunwick out, McDonagh will skate next to Dan Girardi, as per usual. His presence should probably help Girardi get his game back to a level that we’ve come to expect*. Marc Staal and Dan Boyle will remain the second pairing, and Kevin Klein will stay with John Moore. Those pairings sound familiar, don’t they? It’s like we haven’t seen them since June. Oh wait, we haven’t.

*-Leaving this open-ended for a reason.

Even strength minutes that were going to Staal will now go to McDonagh, and that’s a drastic net positive, since McDonagh drives possession and Staal does not. Since Boyle has been a puck possession driver as well, perhaps Staal’s game will improve as well, the way it did when he was paired with Anton Stralman.

Another significant impact will be seen on the powerplay. We’ve addressed how Boyle’s presence on the PP has led to a drastic increase in efficiency (here and here), but that only covers PP1, the unit Boyle is on. Girardi and Moore have been anchoring PP2, and their zone entries have been atrocious. Kevin Power of Blueshirt Banter did a good job breaking down how Girardi enters the zone on the PP, Without rehashing the story, Girardi is generally behind the play, forces an extra pass which slows down the rush, and is set up so far to the side that he’s practically out of the play.

We’ve seen that McDonagh can lead the rush up the ice and gain the zone on his own, so he should help make PP2 a more effective unit. Of course, that is just speculation on my part, but it’s informed speculation. Last season while on the powerplay, McDonagh had a FF/60 of 82.26, while Girardi was at 61.86. That’s almost more than 20 shots per 60 net positive. John Moore sits at 71.41 FF/60. Moore/McDonagh is the smart duo to use down the road, although it won’t be used tonight.

When McDonagh dresses tonight, the Rangers will finally have all 18 skaters pegged for the opening lineup dressed. The Rangers did a solid job of treading water while dealing with injures at 9-8-4 as well. But McDonagh’s return to the lineup will give the Rangers more balanced pairings at even strength and a more balanced PP2 unit. With a home-and-home against Philly coming up, his return couldn’t come soon enough.

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