It’s clear by now that, provided he stays healthy, Marion Gaborik is headed for a 40-plus goal season. It is also apparent that, under coach John Tortorella’s attack first system, the Rangers will undoubtedly continue to get goals from the blue line. They currently lead the league in this category with 13.
The question remains, however, when will the other 11 forwards that dress every night start consistently contributing on offense?
The team currently stands at 10-7-1 as they zero in on the quarter pole of the NHL season, but they are 3-6-1 since their 7-1 start. Their special teams have been terrific, as the penalty kill is number one in the NHL (a stunning 87.3) and the power play is fifth best (a very efficient 24.3).
It’s what is happening at five-on-five, or more specifically, what isn’t happening that has to have Tortorella concerned.
New York Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson, left, keeps an arm on New York Rangers' Chris Drury during the third period of the NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009, in Uniondale, N.Y. The Islanders beat the Rangers, 3-1. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
“We were way too easy to play against tonight,” was how the coach described their play after the loss to the Islanders a week-and-a-half ago. They haven’t gotten much more difficult to play against since then. In the two losses on the recently completed three-game western swing to Vancouver and Calgary the team scored just two goals and made life easy on the opposition’s defense with a generally toothless forecheck.
Now the news hits that the injuries that Chris Drury (concussion) and Brandon Dubinsky (broken bone in hand) suffered against Calgary this past weekend could shelve both for an extended period. Ouch!
In breaking down the Ranger offense thus far you’re looking at 12 goals from Gaborik and 13 from the defense. That leaves 31 goals from the teams’ other 11 forward slots in the 18 games they’ve played. The Rangers have also scored 18 of their 56 goals with the man advantage—that’s almost a third of their total. The math is not pretty.
Perhaps no player better exemplifies that team’s full strength problems than Ales Kotalik, who ended the weekend tied for the league lead in power-play points with 12. Problem is, at even strength he’s gotten just three points and is a minus-six on the season.
Before their injuries on Saturday, Dubinsky and Drury had just five goals between them, Chris Higgins scored his first two of the year on the trip west and Ryan Callahan has but three. A little perspective—19 year old rookie defenseman Michael Del Zotto has outscored all of them with four.
“The biggest thing we’re struggling with is that we’re just on the wrong side of the puck,” Tortorella had explained earlier in the year about his concerns over the team’s offensive struggles. “In the offensive zone we’re not on top of it, and in the neutral zone and our own end zone, we’re not below it.”
Those issues returned on the trip out west and the Rangers offense is simply not deep enough right now to recover from early deficits.
“I can’t question their effort lately; we’re just making mistakes with the puck defensively that are winding up in the net,” Tortorella explained at the conclusion of the trip. The opposition is making a few mistakes as well but right now those pucks are not winding up in the same place as the ones Tortorella referred to.
Getting Pushed Around
The other area of concern in Ranger country right now is the team’s general lack of snarl. The hit that caused the Drury concussion was a blatant cheap shot by Flames winger Curtis Glencross and the Rangers simply didn’t retaliate. Tortorella was asked about the lack of a response to the hit from his club and he calmly stated, “It was so early in and there was a hockey game to win and that’s what I wanted them to concentrate on.”
That might sit a little better if teams hadn’t been running into Henrik Lundqvist all year without much retribution as well. At some point someone has to make a statement or Tortorella’s “we were easy to play against” comment might take on a whole new meaning.
Why did the Rangers sign Donald Brashear again?
ICE CHIPS
Lundqvist, who sat out the game against Calgary with what the team termed a nagging groin injury, said after the game he is “pretty confident” that he can play against the Thrashers at the Garden on Thursday, the Rangers next game.
For those that are hoping Drury will be back from the hit in Calgary soon, think again. This is the third concussion of Drury’s career and the way he looked heading off the ice Saturday was scary. The Rangers have yet to say anything officially about the injury, other than the fact it’s a concussion, but Drury might be out longer than the 2-to-3 weeks we are hearing Dubinsky will be out for the broken hand.
Okay, so we’re sure you’ve heard the Peter Forsberg-to-the-Rangers rumors—who hasn’t? The biggest interest so far is coming from the Rangers and Canucks (not unlike the Mats Sundin sweepstakes last year). Apparently Boston and Philadelphia have also more recently expressed interest. All four teams had scouts in Helsinki scouting Forsberg this week at the Karjala Cup, a European tournament held every year between teams from Sweden, Finland, Russia and the Czech Republic.
According to Forsberg’s agent, Don Baizley, the former NHL All Star will make a decision about whether to play in the NHL, play in Europe/Russia, or retire at the conclusion of the tournament—around Nov. 20.
Expect P.A. Parenteau to make another trip back to New York as a replacement part due to the aforementioned injuries. The 26 year-old, despite missing a few games due to his last call up, is the Wolfpack’s second leading scorer (9-10-19) and looked good in his one-game trial earlier this season.
