This was less about what transpired on the ice rather than what might down the road.
Because the Rangers have now readied themselves for the last go-around with this core of players, a group aided by the newest addition of Eric Staal, who made his debut in a 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets on Monday night at the Garden.
“When I put the jersey on, it was very blue compared to a lot of red,” said Staal, who came over in a deal with the Hurricanes on Sunday. “So a little different, but it felt real good, to be honest. They welcomed me with open arms, I���m excited to get comfortable with this group on the ice and go, because it’s going to be fun.”
So Monday’s trade deadline came and went without the Rangers (37-20-6) making another move besides dressing Staal — which was more impactful that what most of the league did on this surprisingly quiet day. How exactly to fit Staal into the lineup remains a question at the feet of coach Alain Vigneault, as it was very difficult to judge against the awfully conservative play of John Tortorella’s Blue Jackets (26-30-8).
“I thought he was all right,” Vigneault said of Staal, who played 15:43 while switching from center to wing to start the third period. “When I look at my whole group, I thought we were … OK. I think we can play better than we did.”
That is undoubtedly the case, as the Rangers had to be saved by a shorthanded breakaway goal from Derek Stepan with just 2:48 remaining in the third period. Moments earlier, Eric’s brother and new teammate Marc was called for a trip, and Columbus had a chance on the man-advantage to break a 1-1 tie. But Ryan McDonagh made a nice poke check to force a turnover from young Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones — drawing Tortorella to run down the bench while screaming until he was red in the face — which sprung Stepan for the winner.
“I think we have some veteran guys in here that know that you have to keep playing,” said Stepan, whose team lost a 1-0 lead given to it by a sharp-angle goal from Mats Zuccarello late in the first period when Cam Atkinson buried his own rebound on a breakaway early in the third, the result of a horrid Dan Girardi turnover.
“You can’t let a goal beat you or get you down,” Stepan said.
Now one of those veteran guys in the room is Eric Staal, and that persistent attitude is a big part of what drew him to waive his no-move clause and join his brother and this group gunning for the Stanley Cup.
“Swagger, that’s big, you need that in this game,” Eric said. “There’s a confidence, a feeling in this room, regardless of score or what the game is, we’ll be able to find a way. Tonight was a classic example of not our best to start, but a lot of poise, a lot of confidence.”
Staal spent the first 12 years of his career in Carolina, winning a Stanley Cup in 2006 and leaving his other NHL brother, Jordan, and his former team without a captain. At 31 years old, he was in the midst of his worst statistical season, and as a pending unrestricted free agent, there were no guarantees from either him or the Rangers that this relationship would last beyond the spring.
But the hope from the Rangers is that they found someone to fill in their top six, and will be reenergized by the move.
“He gets an opportunity here to come play for a team — and I’m not taking anything away from Carolina — but the games mean a little bit more,” Vigneault said. “You need your players to be prepared, you need your players to go out on the ice and execute. I think it’s a great opportunity for him to come to this environment and show that he can still contribute at a high level on a good team in pressure situations.”
That’s exactly what Staal was looking for, and now the Rangers hope he becomes their missing piece to an elusive championship run.
“I think it was important to send a message to our group that we believe in them and we have faith in them,” Vigneault said. “I think that’s the message that management and coaches have, and we’re sending it.”