Through two periods against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Rangers were getting worked. In nearly every aspect of the game, Columbus was asserting their superiority. If not for some magic from Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers easily could’ve found themselves completely out of the game on a competitive level before the third period even started.
Adjustments needed to be made. If the Rangers were going to find a way to beat a deserving team on a night where New York isn’t playing at their best, you need to embrace some creativity.
To his credit, Alain Vigneault recognized the Rangers need for an adjustment.
The problem: AV doesn’t know how to adjust.[/text_output][image type=”circle” float=”none” src=”696″ alt=”” href=”” title=”” info_content=”” lightbox_caption=”” id=”” class=”” style=””][text_output]With the Rangers completely overwhelmed, Vigneault decided to move Rick Nash up to the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, and move Jimmy Vesey up to the second line with Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes.
The victim of the line juggle? Pavel Buchnevich.
The same Pavel Buchnevich who had scored 12 points in the previous 10 games and had been a consistent force offensively for the Rangers, including the first two periods of the Blue Jackets game.
So many things weren’t working for the Rangers on Friday. The one thing that was – the top line of KZB. Since they were reunited, KZB has been the best Rangers forward grouping the team has had on a nightly basis, which begs the question: why were they ever broken up?
“Well, genius, if you don’t want to touch KZB, how do you make adjustments to counteract what the Blue Jackets were doing?”
I’m glad you asked, anonymous reader!
Kevin Hayes needs to be on the second power play unit. That’s been the case even when this team was in the middle of the win streak. He does more offensively for this team than David Desharnais ever could.
Double-shift Mika Zibanejad for a period. If you want to insert more scoring into your line-up, make sure your scorers are seeing more ice time. If that means playing Mika between Kreider and Buchnevich, then shifting him between Miller and Vesey while bumping Desharnais down to the fourth line and bench Boo Nieves, so be it. You need to create opportunities, and the best way to create opportunities is by making sure your best chance creators remain on the ice.
Put Kevin Shattenkirk on the top pairing with Ryan McDonagh. If you haven’t become annoyed with this constant suggestion and obvious pairing as a point of emphasis for how Alain Vigneault is mismanaging this team, I’m sorry. You’re going to keep hearing it because it’s going to continue to be a focal point. Shattenkirk will never be a shutdown defenseman, but pairing him with McDonagh (who is playing some of his best hockey) again creates more chances in the offensive zone. When McDonagh is getting as much ice time as he needs to get against an incredible offensive team like the Blue Jackets, you have to pair him with an equal game-changer.
Shattenkirk’s presence on offense is obvious. We see it all the time on the power play. Give him top pairing ice time and your offense will be better when it controls the puck. It’s not that complicated.
Play Marc Staal with Brady Skjei. Had I told off-season Greg this idea, he would think something tragic happened to me and I’m not capable of having a coherent thought. However, Staal has been one of the four-best Ranger defensemen this year, but he still moves like a man stuck in mud at times on the ice. Pairing him with a speedy partner could, in theory, cover some areas of his game that are lacking. In a situation where the Rangers have their backs against the wall, you take risks. A Staal/Skjei pairing could be disastrous, but you need to keep your four-best defenders on the ice as much as you can in order to get back into a game. If Shatty moves up to play with Mac, you have to try Skjei with Staal. That simple.
There’s no saying the Rangers could’ve won Friday even if they implemented these three changes. The Blue Jackets were at the height of their powers offensively and defensively, and Sergei Bobrovsky was showing us why he’s – right now – the best goalie in hockey. When the Blue Jackets are playing A+, 100th percentile hockey, there are maybe two teams that can beat them in the NHL, and the Rangers aren’t one of those teams.
However, that doesn’t mean the Rangers should pack their shit and go home after the second period. You have to get creative in your adjustments to try to steal a game, especially when Henrik is giving you that opportunity by standing on his head.
What Alain Vigneault showed us once again is that he’s not that coach capable of a proper adjustment. He doesn’t understand what he needs to be doing.
And that will forever cripple the Rangers chances as long as he’s behind the bench.[/text_output]
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?