The Rangers dropped their season opener to the visiting Colorado Avalanche 4-2 Thursday night. Let’s take a quick look at what exactly happened in this game, both the good and the bad:
–It was one of the main points I highlighted in this week’s newsletter, but the Rangers top power play unit looks dynamic immediately. The top unit controlled the play and suffocated the Avalanche defense every time they were on the man advantage. The combination of Kevin Shattenkirk and Pavel Buchnevich to sprinkle passes to finishers on the wings is devastating. Not even Scott Arniel can stop that power play from putting up points.
–Yes, it was one game. And yes, he needs to do it on a consistent basis to show how real performances like these can be. But no Ranger was more dynamic than Mika Zibanejad. So many questions were asked throughout the off-season regarding if the Rangers could survive with the top line centered by Zibanejad, and he did everything he could to answer all the doubters on the first night of the season. His presence on the ice was noticeable every shift, and if he stays healthy, this is the type of player who could put up a 60+ point season without much trouble.
–My god is the KZB line beautiful. The chemistry Zibanejad has with both Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich is undeniable, and it makes one wonder why this trio was ever broken up in the first place.
–Speaking of questionable line deployments, if Filip Chytil is here, he absolutely has to play on the second power play unit. Chytil only saw 7:40 of ice time, the second-lowest total on the team (only Paul Carey’s 7:22 was lower). That’s unacceptable. The only way to know if Big Fil can stick at the NHL level as an 18-year old is by throwing him in the fire. His early first period penalty didn’t help, but there is still zero reason for David Desharnais to be playing on the second PP unit over Chytil. Let the kid play. The difference in performance of the first PP unit and the second PP unit was noticeable. Change it up, AV.
–Semyon Varlamov was unquestionably the best goalie tonight. The Rangers had plenty of opportunities in this game, and by all means they were good enough to score more than two goals. Varlamov was simply better than the Rangers offense. On any other night, the Rangers score 5+ goals.
–Henrik Lundqvist was…not great. He definitely started slow and seemed to play his way into the game, but let’s be honest with ourselves: this was not peak Hank. This wasn’t even good Hank. This was barely OK Hank. Varlamov was so good, the Rangers weren’t going to be able to win this game with a mediocre Hank performance. Now, don’t take this as me sounding the alarm. It’s one game. I’m not worried about Hank in the slightest. I’m simply calling a spade a spade.
–Why is Marc Staal getting ice time? Even more important, why is Marc Staal being put in important in-game positions? Marc Staal is bad. He simply can’t play at the NHL level anymore. The fact that AV plays him on the #1 penalty kill is an embarrassment. It’s the very reason why fans continue to doubt his roster management and unit assignments. It’s bad enough that Staal remains on the active roster on a nightly basis. To put him on the #1 PK unit is just irrational.
With all this being said, it’s one game. A lot can change. No Ranger fan should be freaking out because of the loss to a team the Rangers would be 9 times out of 10. Varlamov was the difference and it showed.
The real question will be if Vigneault decides to make line-up changes. At the minimum, he should put Chytil on the second PP unit (though it’s not like Desharnais played poorly) and keep Marc Staal far away from any PK unit. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did neither, though. That’s just what I’ve come to expect from him.
Author: Greg Kaplan
Greg Kaplan is a man of mystery. Did he write this? No. Was he asked to write this? Yes. But did he write this article? Maybe, do you like it?