These Rangers always have found their strength from the net out. The star and centerpiece is goalie Henrik Lundqvist, and the foundation of how the team plays lies with the core group of defensemen.
But the start to this season has been an odd one — a lot of wins and a lot of poor play from the Blueshirts’ blue line. It only is during the recent six-game stretch of 1-4-1 that the problem seems to be manifesting itself in the standings.
Captain Ryan McDonagh, along with alternate captains Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, all had offseason injuries to deal with that delayed their training and led to slow starts. McDonagh’s game has come around, but the other two have continued to struggle, with just rare instances of quality 60-minute performances.
Toss in the crap shoot that is the game of 39-year-old Dan Boyle, and the Rangers (17-7-3) have seen a strength turn into a weakness. It is a part of their roster that will be tested when the high-powered Senators play at the Garden on Sunday night.
“I firmly believe, I think Ryan is on the right track as far as skating with the puck, making better decisions with it,” coach Alain Vigneault said after Saturday’s practice. “I do think that Marc and Dan, and Boyler, can be a lot better than they’ve showed us.”
This has become a common refrain for Vigneault, saying he needs more from the players he depends on so heavily. But Vigneault then focused on Staal, a pointed and honest assessment of the career-long Ranger, starting with his decision to pass the puck to Kevin Hayes at the offensive blue line in the second period of Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Avalanche, a play that led to Matt Duchene scoring Colorado’s second goal on a 2-on-1 rush the other way.
“That’s Marc giving him the puck there when he has no business giving him the puck,” Vigneault said. “It’s not Hayes’ fault.”
It was a confusing decision for Vigneault to see Staal make, given his history as a solid and smart defender.
“How many times do you see a decision at the blue line like he makes there that cost a goal? Very rarely,” Vigneault said. “I’m confident that the next time that situation happens, the right play will occur.”
That was just a glimpse into what the coach has seen consistently from three of the most important players on his team. With such emphasis placed on quick transition, Vigneault’s system stresses the need for his defensemen to make the right decisions, and make them fast.
“Our transition, our breakouts, they start with Marc, they start with Dan, they start with Boyler,” he said. “We need those guys to handle the puck better, there’s no doubt.”
With the oblique injury to stalwart right-hander Kevin Klein set to sideline him for at least another two weeks, Vigneault’s back-end is filled out with the mercurial Keith Yandle and young pugilist Dylan McIlrath.
“Keith is coming along,” Vigneault said. “There will always be moments in games when Keith is going to make a low-percentage play that could be high-reward. For the most part, I’ve really liked his last three or four games, since the Boston game [last Friday]. He’s been more effective. And Dylan is a young ‘D’ going through the process.”
But that is what was expected of those two, Yandle always looking for a stretch pass that is darn near impossible to complete, and McIlrath, 23, doing all he can to stick up for his teammates and to keep up with the pace. That leads to the questions about the core group, the guys who are supposed to be the steadying influences on a nightly basis.
“They’ll get better,” Vigneault said. “I think they’re very conscious of it.”
For those slow starts to the year, the summertime injuries were easily leaned on — and rightfully so — for McDonagh, Staal and Girardi.
“I would say that in October, that was a definite possibility” Vigneault said. “Now we’re in the beginning of December, we should have turned the corner. We have to turn the corner.”