Can the Rangers manage without Ryan McDonagh?

Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Last night, the Rangers and their fans held their collective breaths as captain Ryan McDonagh, the anchor of their blue line, blocked a shot by Brandon Dubinsky with his hand, and immediately left the game. McDonagh did not return, and will be re-evaluated today, per Alain Vigneault.

While a recall of a defenseman –likely Brady Skjei– is all but confirmed at this point (Update: written before the Skjei recall), the major issue will be how the Rangers deal with the injury in the playoffs. McDonagh and Keith Yandle are without a doubt the two best Rangers defensemen, and perhaps the only two skaters that the Rangers couldn’t lose for a serious playoff run.

The injury is compounded not by Skjei’s recall, but by the minutes that will be given to Marc Staal. While Yandle has proven time and time again to be capable of handling top-four minutes, Staal –who has played two solid games in a row– has struggled all year, especially with the puck.

What makes McDonagh so good isn’t just that he’s solid in his own end with positioning, assignments, and physicality, in which Staal is also capable. It’s that McDonagh is also capable of making that short, quick, smart pass to break out of the zone. That is not Staal’s strong suit, which is putting it lightly.

There will be two factors that determine the Rangers’ success if McDonagh is out long-term: Skjei’s performance, and Vigneault’s deployment of his left defensemen. This in and of itself poses a major risk to the Rangers’ hopes at making another run this year.

Thinking out loud, let’s assume that the Yandle-Dan Girardi pairing now gets the top assignments. That means Staal and Kevin Klein get second pair minutes (these two pairs can be switched, it really depends on matchup). Skjei would be paired with Dan Boyle. Looking at these pairings, the downgrade isn’t in the top pair, it’s in the second pair. Remember that Staal was a third pairing defenseman prior to the injury. Personally, assuming Skjei shows he’s capable, I prefer him on the second pair.

It’s not all doom-and-gloom for the Rangers. They can survive this injury, as they have survived other injuries in the past. But it requires proper deployment and recognition by the coaching staff that name brand deteriorates over time. If that means trusting a rookie that has played well over a veteran who has struggled, so be it. Sometimes the unproven rookie is better than the known quantity.