Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images

It was just over four weeks ago that Chris Mueller was the third-line center for the New York Rangers. Feels like a lot longer than that, right?

New York’s problems down the middle began when the team failed to bring in a replacement for Brad Richards and were exacerbated when Derek Stepan broke his fibula during training camp.

But since Stepan’s return to the lineup on November 8th, a bit of normalcy has returned to the Blueshirts. Their 5-5-2 record over that span looks a lot worse thanks to three recent losses to the impressive Tampa Bay Lightning, but Stepan has been a godsend since the moment he rejoined the team.

Stepan has already shot up to fourth on the team in scoring with 13 points in 12 games, despite playing in half the contests of his teammates. He has also been a huge addition to the power play and penalty kill, and it’s no coincidence that team defense has started to improve lately as well.

Stepan played 17:26 in his season debut and hasn’t looked back, averaging 18:32 per game while working himself into shape. Those minutes are particularly big when compared to Stepan’s rotating fill-ins, Kevin Hayes, who’s averaged 12:13 and Chris Mueller, who averaged 10:27.

Stepan’s return to the heart of the lineup has also taken some of the pressure off Derrick Brassard as the sole source of offense in the middle.

The argument over whether Stepan is a true No. 1 center is silly. By definition, there are 30 #1s in the league, and Stepan is the Rangers’. But there’s also no doubt that Stepan and Brassard aren’t quite the one-two punch of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler, or Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza.

Recently, however, their production can stack up against those top duos. On top of Stepan’s hot streak, Brassard has enjoyed one of the more consistent stretches of his career with points in 15 of 24 games, a season pace of 68 points, which would be 21 more than his previous career best. And with talented wingers flanking both men, the offense might not dry up anytime soon.

Stepan doesn’t have the offensive flash of a superstar or the defensive reputation of the annual Selke finalists, but he’s New York’s version of Patrice Bergeron. When Stepan is healthy and playing in every situation, the Rangers are a wildly better team.

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