Photo: Noah K. Murray / USA Today Sports
The Rangers will be without defenseman Kevin Klein for the foreseeable future with a broken thumb, and the injury came at the worst possible time. Klein has been arguably the Rangers’ best defenseman, and absolutely the best right-handed defenseman. Dylan McIlrath will get extended playing time, likely with Keith Yandle.
On paper, the drop-off from Klein to McIlrath shouldn’t be all that terrible. McIlrath actually has better possession numbers, but it’s a small sample. But from what we’ve seen, he’s been able to make the smart first pass out of the zone and manages his gap control very well, which helps hide his weaker skating.
Of course, that’s on paper. In reality, McIlrath will not get all the minutes Klein was getting. Dan Girardi and Dan Boyle will likely be getting the brunt of extra responsibilities while Klein is out, as scary as that sounds. McIlrath will get Klein’s even strength minutes for sure, but expect special teams work to be divided among the Dan’s.
And therein lies the difference between expected results and actual results. If McIlrath simply slid in for Klein and played those exact minutes, we probably (hopefully?) wouldn’t notice too much of a drop-off. But it won’t be that simple, and with the way the Dan’s have played this year, we will see some significant effects.
For starters, Klein was the second-best defenseman on the penalty kill based on CA/60 among defensemen that played 25 minutes on the PK. Girardi isn’t much of a drop-off here, but he is a significant drop-off from McIlrath, who has a team best 83.00 CA/60. What this means is that there is an opportunity to see better PK results if McIlrath gets more time, but that’s on Alain Vigneault.
As for the powerplay, it is highly unlikely we see McIlrath and that booming shot get a chance as the off-wing trigger man. Klein was rarely afforded that opportunity anyway.
With McIlrath taking even strength minutes and hopefully penalty kill minutes, it gives the coaching staff an opportunity to trust him more. He’s done everything he can already to earn trust and more playing time, but now the coaching staff is forced to do so. By forcing them to trust him, he can earn more playing time, and take that time away from fading favorites and aging veterans. It will put him in a position to succeed and help the Rangers long-term. McIlrath represents some optimism and hope. Considering the state of the blue line, we need all the optimism and hope we can find.