henrik lundqvist

Hank: he’ll be needed early if the Rangers are going to start well

The Rangers are likely looking at a slow start this season and anything better than treading water will be a bonus for Alain Vigneault. Fans should not expect miracles to kick off the season for multiple reasons. While Dave has already discussed the Rangers looking at all their line-up options to begin the season, the fact is only one line offers stability. The trio of Rick Nash-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello will start the year together and that should come as no surprise but beyond this, there will be significant tinkering with the line-up. It’s not just line-up decisions however that could cause a slow start.

Tough Slate

Looking beyond the obvious roster decisions and the Rangers have a tough start when you factor in the early schedule. Starting in Chicago is tough enough but throw in a back to back with the talented (and presumably now healthy) Blue Jackets makes the Rangers opening three games a real baptism of fire for the 15/16 season. It doesn’t get much easier. With Eastern conference heavyweights Montreal on tap inside the first two weeks and the San Jose Sharks due two weeks today, the Rangers have a lot of talented opponents to begin the year. ‘Relief’ should come in the form of games against the Devils and the Coyotes but a .500 record after eight games would not be such a bad thing given the opponents up first to kick off October.

What will special teams look like?

We know what players will likely get the bulk of the special teams minutes. Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard will command PP minutes. Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes promise to get a lot of minutes up front as well. On the blueline Keith Yandle will quarterback the power play but the Rangers have tried several combinations in the preseason while the PP has hardly excelled in recent seasons anyway. The penalty kill is an even bigger work in progress.

Gone is Carl Hagelin. Arrived are Jarret Stoll and Oscar Lindberg. The penalty kill promises to be a different unit compared to last year. While Dominic Moore will get significant penalty kill minutes the unit as a whole could be put together differently. While preseason performances shouldn’t carry too much weight the ‘PK’ struggled at times. Traditionally a strength, losing a core ingredient such as Carl Hagelin from the PK unit will be felt, certainly early on. Whether it’s the PP or PK, there’s likely to be change on both units to begin the year as Vigneault looks for chemistry.

How healthy are last year’s injured core?

Mats Zuccarello is still making his way back to full match fitness while Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal and Keith Yandle all played with significant injuries to end last year. All five players will likely need a few games to find their midseason form, particularly compared to those players that were healthy last year. How these five key Ranger veterans start the year will go a long way in influencing the Rangers start to the season; all five should continue to play key roles this season.

Other factors come into play when considering the Rangers potential slow start. While Henrik Lundqvist is a ‘slow starter’ he has looked sharp in September and should be less of a concern for the Rangers but Vigneault will likely want to give Anti Raanta an early look to see what he has in Cam Talbot’s replacement. The Rangers will want to know sooner rather than later how settled the backup position is. Considering how crucial Cam Talbot was to last years team, the Rangers won’t want to enter the stretch run with a question mark in goal.

With special teams, the schedule and team health all legitimate concerns as the Rangers head to Chicago, don’t be surprised if the Rangers don’t race out to a strong start.

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