Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
The Rangers close out the season this afternoon against the Detroit Red Wings in what is a relatively meaningless game for the Rangers, but means everything for the Wings. The Blueshirts have the potential to end the Wings season, along with potentially Pavel Datsyuk’s career. The Magic Man and sure fire Hall of Famer has hinted he might go to the KHL to wrap up his remaining hockey. Whatever he does, if this is his last game, then let’s watch in awe with what he can do with the puck.
The game itself isn’t completely meaningless for the Rangers. A loss all but ensures the first wild card seed and a date with the Panthers in the first round. A win, and we will need to wait and see what the Isles do this weekend. A Rangers win and an Isles loss means Pittsburgh. That’s the only scenario where we know who the Rangers will face in the first round.
Wings Systems
For those that don’t follow Prashanth Iyer, you should. He does a great job breaking down everything Detroit.
The Wings run a 1-2-2 forecheck, which is fairly standard. But Blashill is very aggressive, and encourages the first defenseman to get involved at the blue line, instead of the red line. That means more pressure on the Rangers blue liners to make proper decisions with the puck. The Rangers deploy a similar forecheck, but are less aggressive with their defensemen, preferring to pressure at the red line, instead of the blue line. The risk of Blashill’s scheme is that quick passing can lead to odd-man rushes with that aggressive defenseman.
In the defensive zone, the Wings play a hybrid overload/low zone collapse. They overload the strong side, much like the Rangers. When the puck gets below the goal line, the forwards collapse into low zone coverage. That’s where the Rangers differ, as they switch to man coverage when the puck gets below the goal line. Although it was admittedly hard to see what kind of scheme the Rangers ran early in the year, they’ve been significantly better at their switches lately.
The Wings run a variety of breakouts, all detailed here. This is common for a lot of teams, and the way Prashanth breaks it down is very relevant, as the Rangers play a 1-2-2 forecheck. The Rangers have had a strong forecheck the last few games, so expect them to pressure those first two passes on the breakouts. For more breakout plays, see this post from Suit.
On special teams, the Wings run a 1-3-1 powerplay. This has been standard for multiple teams since the Bolts started using it a few years ago. The Wings don’t have that one sniper they try to feed, so they rely on quick passes to breakdown the penalty kill. Considering how amazing the Rangers’ PK has been, the best bet is to stay out of the box.
On the PK, the Wings are one of the few teams that don’t run some form of hybrid system.They run a straight wedge+1, which is similar to the diamond force the Rangers use. Both have a “roamer” designed to force the play, while the remaining three defenders take out the high percentage shots. The difference is that the Wings will only use their forwards as the “+1” whereas the Rangers will rotate out based on puck location, including defensemen. The wedge is simpler to execute and more conservative, but the diamond force creates more turnovers.
Wings Lines
Justin AbdelkaderHenrik Zetterberg-Dylan Larkin
Tomas Tatar-Pavel Datsyuk-Andreas Athanasiou
Gustav Nyquist-Riley Sheahan-Teemu Pulkkinen
Darren Helm-Luke Glendening-Brad Richards
Kyle Quincey-Danny Dekeyser
Niklas Kronwall-Mike Green
Jonathan Ericsson-Brendan Smith
PP1: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Abdelkader-Larkin-Green
PP2: Nyquist-Tatar-Pulkkinen-Helm-Smith
PK: Glendening, Abdelkader, Sheahan, Athanasiou, Helm, Quincey, Dekeyser, Smith, Ericsson, Kronwall
Petr Mrazek gets the start.
Rangers Lines (Presumed)
Chris Kreider–Derick Brassard–Rick Nash
JT Miller–Derek Stepan-Jesper Fast
Kevin Hayes–Eric Staal-Oscar Lindberg
Tanner Glass–Dominic Moore–Marek Hrivik
Keith Yandle–Kevin Klein
Marc Staal–Dylan McIlrath
Brady Skjei–Dan Boyle
Antti Raanta gets the start.
Scratches/Injuries: Ryan McDonagh (hand), Dan Girardi (upper body), Mats Zuccarello (lower body), Viktor Stalberg (lower body)
Crazy Prediction: Datsyuk doesn’t retire.
Be sure to check out our ticket link if you’re looking for tickets to the game. Game time is 12:30pm on MSG. All gifs will be on nyrgifs.com.
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