New York - The New York Rangers pulled off a gutsy 4-2 win against the Southeastern Division leading Winnipeg Jets last night. In a season marred by a complete lack of consistency the true test for the Rangers lies in how they will follow this win with a huge home & home series against the Eastern Conference leading Pittsburgh Penguins. With a win tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, the Penguins will come into Wednesday's match-up against the Rangers riding a league best 16 game winning streak. Setting things up against the Rangers with a chance to tie the NHL record, also set by the Penguins in the '92/'93 season, for 17 straight wins.
Which Rangers team is going to show up? The one who came out and scored 19 seconds into last night's game; or will it be the one who followed up that early goal by allowing one just 56 seconds later? This is where the Rangers need to dig deep and find some sort of stability in their play to avoid another late season letdown.
Ryan Callahan stepped up in a big way last night, and in typical Captain-Cally fashion, had a four point performance when the team needed it most (1 goal, 3 assists). The "lead by example" captain has laid the blueprint for how the Rangers need to play from here on out, it's time for his teammates to step up and follow suit. The next two games are immensely important in determining where this team will stand come the end of the regular season. With the playoff race getting tighter and tighter the Rangers have 13 games to leave a lasting mark on the way this season is going to end.
The Rangers currently sit in 8th place of the Eastern Conference tied with the Islanders at 37 points with a game in hand on them. The islanders are a scary team right now- they're young, and lead by budding star John Tavares who's got them playing with a ton of confidence. It seems as though they will be hanging around the playoff race all the way to the end of the season. The Rangers also have a game in hand on the rival New Jersey Devils, and only trail them by 2 points for the 7th seed seed in the East. This is how close everything is, and how minimal the margin for error has become. A bad loss here and a bad loss there could cost the team a playoff spot come May.
The NHL's trade deadline is on April 3rd at 3pm. There has been much speculation of who potentially could be traded, and brought in to stabilize this team. My personal thought is, unless you can add some veteran depth on our bottom 6 forwards the Rangers should stay status-quo. I realize Gaborik is struggling, and now could be a good time to get considerable return on him via a trade, but he is also a player who has the potential to heat up at any given time. While Rangers fans call for his head every time he touches the puck, they quickly forget the fact that for the past 3 seasons this was the only player who consistently carried the team offensively. Coming off shoulder surgery this past off-season I still think he will be able to find his game and begin to put the puck in on a more regular/familiar basis - Don't jump the gun on this one.
Ryan Clowe of the San Jose Sharks is an interesting player that I know the Rangers are kicking the tires on. Speculation right now shows that the asking price is way to high for a mucker who has 0 goals and 9 assists in 28 games this season. Many media outlets have also been suggesting that New York has shown considerable interest in Dan Boyle, also from San Jose, a right handed defenseman who is known for his ability to solidify the power-play. He could be a great option, but at 36 years old, and with two years left on a $6.7 million cap hit - the Rangers should not give in to any high demands on the asking price of acquiring him.
There is no way around it, the Rangers are a young team. As the games have gotten more important, John Tortorella has been shortening his bench. Chris Kreider and JT Miller both saw a dramatic decrease in playing time last night because they have not earned Tort's trust to be out there late in tight games . This issue was perfectly illustrated by Adam Rotter of SNY:
Read: Worrying About JT Miller and Chris Kreider on.sny.tv/10lKrlL
— Adam Rotter (@AdamRotter) April 2, 2013
Are these the foretelling signs of one of them being sent back down to the AHL? A move like that could open up some room for a depth acquisition before the Trade Deadline on Wednesday. There is also a lot of speculation that there is "League Wide" interest in Brian Boyle as per New York Post writer Larry Brooks in his article that came out early this morning:
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/trading_nay_lyPFsv88xZLnP0sdSLor1I
As bad as Boyle has been, and he's been pretty bad - sitting at a +/- of -11 in his 31 games this season, he can still be a key asset to this club. With the departure of Jeff Halpern, lost on waivers to the Canadiens, Boyle has become the most reliable face-off man on this team. He can still kill penalties, block shots, and hopefully be able to regain his scoring touch. If the Rangers are to make a move at the deadline, it seems as though he has become the most expendable, what they get in return is the question that lies.
Also is worth noting that the NHL world has now been put on Jagr watch (Bruins/Red Wings the front-runners to land him):
Stars told Jaromir Jagr that he will be traded before 3 PM Eastern Wednesday. #transactions2013#RDS
— Renaud Lavoie (@RenLavoieRDS) April 2, 2013
Expect a lot of teams to be in on this- As for the Rangers, I'm sure they'll see what Dallas is looking for in return. If he could be had at a low cost I would love to see him come back to New York. He would be a great veteran player who would stabilize any of the Power-play woes that have been plaguing this team. I know it's a long shot, but would still love to see it. - UPDATED _ BOSTON HAS ACQUIRED JAGAR AS OF 1:20 pm TODAY
Ultimately, trade or no trade, it all comes down to how the Rangers follow up last night's big win. Too often this season the team looks poised to break out of their slump, and too often they suffer a letdown. If they can go on a nice little run here down the home stretch they could be a very dangerous team come playoff time. The key is, finding the consistency in their game, and to make it into the postseason. The LA Kings proved last year, as an 8 seed that anything can happen come playoff time, it's just a matter of getting there.
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