13-13-4
This will probably be the weirdest NHL season in the history of the league. On top of normal player absences due to injury, Covid protocol for infections are another layer. It’s been hitting every team, removing players from the roster for days at a time, even postponing a few games that will be scheduled later. New Jersey and Buffalo, for example will have brutally stacked schedules to catch up on total games played. The rest of the season is going to be an endurance race and that’s not even talking about the crush of playoff hockey.
Injury and covid absences have strained the Rangers for a few stretches. Panarin, in particular, was out for a stretch along with Chytil, and Trouba at the same time. Right now, Igor Shesterkin has been out for 2 weeks putting a strain on the team’s goaltending (unreliable, to say the least). Panarin was also sidelined for weeks by allegations out of Russia from something that allegedly happened 10 years ago.
The record shows the struggles of the season. Cold goal-scoring veterans, missing players, spotty goaltending. It’s led to a max win streak of 3 games. A handful of 2 games in a row which doesn’t count as a streak. They frequently lose multiple games in a row. I think I said this last time, but they haven’t been playing up to the team’s potential. Struggling to stay close to, not even over, .500 is absurd with the talent on this team.
When they do, it’s amazing stuff. In the video above you can see the clinic they put on the Flyers this week. The game before that, they lost in overtime in a game where they came back from a quick 2 goal deficit. It looked like a horrific game, they rally in the second, and end up not pulling it off. Then they go to Washington where they lose a close game they dominated for 54 minutes. Yesterday they got revenge on the Caps for that loss.
When the whole team shows up, I think they can beat anyone. They just haven’t been able to sustain good luck and momentum. It looks like Mika Zibanejad is emerging from his puzzling point-scoring coma. Kreider has stepped up to try and fill that void but it isn’t enough. Panarin is back and doing everything he can. Pavel Buchnevich is finally hitting his potential. It looks like there is a lot of upside coming but I temper my expectations after so many disappointing losses.
Is it a coaching issue? Maybe? Many fans think Quinn needs to go, citing the destruction of the Flyers as proof (he and the other 2 coaches were out for Covid protocols and the Hartford Wolfpack guys stepped in and up to fill in for 3 games now). That’s not a big enough sample size for me to say the guy needs to go but struggling this much into year 3 of a rebuild where so many player picks have gone right does raise an eyebrow to the idea.
Playing no one but the same 7 teams 8 times is really weird too. It’s a very small sample size of talent and any low-performing team is going to get trounced by the same teams and skew point totals. The Rangers have to get past Philadelphia and Boston to make the playoffs. With the way Philly has been playing lately (serious goal tending issues) moving one step up the ranks is feasible. It’s going to take a serious run in wins to get over Boston and keep them back. Pittsburgh just hit a gnarly injury patch to their roster so a lot of players will need to step up to keep them from sliding. Currently, they are 10 points about the Rangers and that’s a mountain to climb with 26/27 games remaining. If they hit the skids, it is possible but I think that’s a moonshot. No one in the East division is going to catch up to the Islanders or Capitals who are tied with 44 points.
If they make the playoffs, it’ll be a redemption story for the Rangers that will go down in the books.