35-19-9
This was a weird week that saw little success. The win against LA looked like a turnaround statement game but there was a lot of fallout from that game. Ryan Lingren was injured, he missed all 3 games this week. His return is currently unknown. K’Andre Miller was suspended for spitting, he’ll be back for Thursday’s game vs Buffalo. Ben Harpur was called up to replace one of them but he doesn’t have the skill they do. This also means playing with only 5 D men, putting a lot of physical strain on the group to play longer minutes. They managed to hold on to beat Philly but it’s clear that when the third period comes about, they’re running out of gas. A really disappointing loss to Ottowa and they competed with Boston until the third period when they lost control. Tyler Motte was also injured, dinging the 4th line, and the NHL didn’t allow the club to do an emergency call-up for some reason. The bench has been thin all week and it’s showing on the ice.
The huge news was the trade for Patrick Kane. One of the best American players in NHL history officially left Chicago for New York. He started his career with Panarin and now they’re back together. He’s a goal scorer and has a tremendous eye for developing plays. He’s one of the best players when it comes to the playoffs. He can make things happen. His stats have been down this season but the hope is that joining a playoff-bound team (which he said was the only team he wanted to be traded to) will kick his game back in gear. In his first two games, he hasn’t shown much. I think he’s had one practice with the team so far and that shows on the ice. He’s on the first power play unit and in the game against Boston, they didn’t function like a unit. With Kane on there, the positioning has changed and they don’t know how to work with Kane yet. They all just skated around looking for something to happen instead of making something happen.
In short, with all of these changes, the team has largely been dysfunctional. The four days off is a blessing. Practice is sorely needed so roles and plays can be defined and re-established. Kane has been with Chicago for 16 seasons, he’s never been in this scenario before. Tarasenko has had 3 weeks to find his space and it looks like he’s getting comfortable; I think he’s at 4G and 6A now. Niko Mikkola is also getting better despite all of his penalties. Panarin needs to re-align his game with Kane and not be so eager to simply pass to him every time he sees him “open”. The amount of turnovers Panarin is causing is a massive problem.
Chris Drury did everything he could to make the team better at the trade deadline. Now it’s up to the coaches and the players to come together and make that better team happen. There are 20 games left and the playoff race is getting rabid. The teams that the Rangers have had a large point lead against are playing well now and the Rangers have to regain their footing to keep them at bay. When the best teams are playing consistently well headed into the playoffs, you have to match that level or it’s going to be a quick out.