Photo Credit: AP / Jim Mone

Thursday is usually musings day, but it’s been a while since I’ve actually written one of these. I leave them to Chris, but he’s MIA at the moment. Since there isn’t much going on in Rangerland, today seems like a perfect day to bring it back.

1. There isn’t much for the Rangers to play for in the next two weeks, yet despite our calls to enjoy stress free hockey, it seems to be difficult to do so. Lineup decisions have been questioned, but none moreso than the repeated scratching of Pavel Buchnevich. In short, this is a terrible decision by Alain Vigneault. Buchnevich is better than half the forwards on the roster, and is the long-term future of this team at forward. He needs these games to grow and develop. Putting Matt Puempel and Tanner Glass in over him is folly.

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John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP

Two questions for this week’s mailbag. As always, you can submit questions using the mailbag widget on the right.

Anthony asks (short version): Who are the Rangers going to protect if Jeff Gorton can’t make any moves to prepare for the expansion draft?

This is a pretty straight forward question with a straight forward answer. Assuming there are no moves made, the Rangers will protect 7 forwards, 3 defensemen and a goalie. They must expose two forwards signed next year, and one defenseman signed next year (note: RFAs don’t cut it. They need to be signed). First and second year pros are exempt. Any player with a no-move clause must be protected. So let’s go through the obvious choices (UFAs are excluded):

Goalies: Henrik Lundqvist will be protected. Antti Raanta will be exposed.

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Received a couple of questions this week for the mailbag. So let’s have at it. Don’t forget to use the mailbag feature on the right side to submit any questions.

BrooklynVic asks (short version): When can we bring Igor Shestyorkin over? With Henrik Lundqvist getting up there in age and Antti Raanta’s uncertain future, the Rangers could use him.

First things first, Shestyorkin is the heir apparent to Hank. He’s been lights out in the KHL at just 20 years old. Of all the goaltending prospects the Rangers have, and they have a bunch, he is the best.

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Brendan Smith looks like a keeper on defense (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

– Both Dave and the guys at Blueshirt Banter started beating the drum last week – but they’re absolutely right that Brady Skjei deserves more attention. Skjei has gotten lost in the shuffle because of the ridonkulous rookie class, but he’s been better than anyone could have imagined this year, especially offensively. That part of Skjei’s game was never trumpeted in scouting reports, but his unexpected passing skills combined with his ability to skate the puck to safety have made Skjei a very dangerous weapon.

– With Ryan McDonagh’s return to an elite level and the reports that New York is interested in retaining the very useful Brendan Smith, the Blueshirts could be halfway to a solid defense going forward. Smith has been pretty much exactly as billed – he brings nothing to the table offensively but is rock solid in his own end, plays with an edge and flips the ice pretty quickly. There’s no flashiness to his game but he’s a perfectly effective player.

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Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac (Newsday)

The Rangers received some brutal news yesterday, as goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will be out for 2-3 weeks with a lower body injury. It may not seem brutal at the moment due to Antti Raanta’s superb play, but if this is something that will linger into the playoffs for Hank, then it could be a critical blow to any chances this year. As always, I have some thoughts.

1. As mentioned above, if this is something that lingers, it could pose a serious problem for this year’s playoff chances. As great as Raanta’s been, he’s not Lundqvist, and he’s not playoff Lundqvist. Hank steps up his game in the playoffs, and when one of the top goalies in the world gets hot, anything can happen. If he gets hot like he did to kick off last season, then the Rangers could make a run. Again, no slight against Raanta, but he’s no Hank.

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Yesterday sure was a day in Rangerland, wasn’t it? The Rangers world was lit on fire when the Rangers announced that they had recalled Tanner Glass and Steven Kampfer. The move was designed to address a perceived issue that the Rangers lacked toughness. So Glass and Kampfer have been recalled. And I have some thoughts.

1. Let’s start with the reason why the call ups were made: Toughness. First things first, toughness is a very subjective term. I think toughness is quantified by playing through injuries. Others believe it to be the number of hits delivered. Regardless of your definition of toughness, there are two problems with these moves. The first is that two players –one (Kampfer) who won’t be in the lineup in a week– do not change the toughness culture. Players that have that requisite “skill” need to be dispersed throughout the lineup. The second is that no one seemed to have a problem with this exact same lineup in January when they were winning games. It only became an issue over the past four games.

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All is quiet in Ranger land at the moment. The trade deadline has passed. The Rangers would need to have an epic collapse to miss the playoffs. The only questions now are who they will face and how successful they will be. So with that, I posed a question about what you want to see in this post, and got some replies, so let’s have at it.

Kevin asks: What do you think the final stretch lines/pairings will be? (This came up multiple times, but Kevin was the first to ask)

I don’t think we are going to see much change in the lineup. The top nine will remain the same. We will see some changes on the fourth line though. Expect Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fast (when healthy) to be the mainstays. Brandon Pirri and Pavel Buchnevich will rotate in. That’s what I have when fully healthy for the playoffs. While Fast is out, I expect Matt Puempel to join the rotation.

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