Amy Irvin/The Hockey Writers

Amy Irvin/The Hockey Writers

Over the weekend, Alain Vigneault spoke with Dan Boyle, and said that he would be getting more time off as a healthy scratch throughout the season. The reasoning is that the Rangers have a fairly condensed schedule, with 17 back-to-backs and about ten (I think) three-in-fours. While Boyle is better defensively than he receives credit, he is also 39 years old coming off a long season.

There’s also the factor of getting Dylan McIlrath playing time, which in the long-run is equally important. McIlrath has made tremendous strides in his game over the past year, and has gone from “bust” territory to serviceable defenseman. The Rangers invested a lot of time and effort into his development, and it appears to finally be paying dividends.

Rotating Boyle and McIlrath is the only logical move, once you realize that Dan Girardi –with all of his struggles– won’t be coming out of the lineup any time soon. Kevin Klein has been arguably the best defenseman thus far, so the odd man out is Boyle.

Courtesy of war-on-ice

Courtesy of war-on-ice

All things considered, McIlrath has been pretty effective in his role as the rotating 6D with Boyle. He’s getting fewer offensive zone starts than Boyle, but is actually putting up better possession numbers (small sample size warning).

Beyond the numbers, it’s McIlrath’s positioning and overall play that has really impressed me. During his first stint last year, he was constantly out of position, looking to make the big hit. In the right matchups, he’s able to shutdown the opposition’s rush, and push the play up the ice. He’s not the best skater in the world, and he will be exploited, but he’s been quietly solid thus far.

As for Boyle, he’s still doing his job driving possession and playing solid defense. He’s not what he used to be, and he’s not putting up numbers, but he’s far from the detriment to the team that many make him out to be.

Knowing that Girardi or Marc Staal won’t come out of the lineup, a rotation of Boyle and McIlrath makes the most sense for the Rangers. It keeps Boyle fresh and eases McIlrath into a potential full time role next year. It also gives the team some flexibility to match up based on opposition strengths/weaknesses. There are few downsides to this rotation.

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