Battle Of Hudson

Step Up: It’s time for Derek Stepan to step up in Ryan Callahan’s absence.

A closer look at the Rangers’ scoring issues is enough to make one jump off the Chase Bridges. A fundamental flaw with the roster is the lack of finish. Outside of Rick Nash, they don’t possess one other 30-goal scorer. Nash missed 17 games due to a concussion. Including last night’s dandy, he has six goals in 15 games. That total would be a lot higher if he stayed healthy. Brad Richards leads the team with nine. For a player many wanted to amnesty, that’s fine. As predicted, he’s bounced back leading the club in scoring with 24 points.

The problem is Richards can’t be the leading goal scorer 32 games in. With Ryan Callahan suffering a second-degree knee sprain, he’ll be out four to six weeks. Even though the Rangers captain was struggling offensively, his seven goals are tied with rookie Chris Kreider for second. That includes a team best four power play goals. Given how much he leads in every situation, it’s up to teammates to step up in his absence. One player who can perform better is Derek Stepan. After re-signing at the end of camp, he’s been inconsistent so far. While his 15 assists are tied with Richards for the team lead and his 20 points are tied with Mats Zuccarello for second best, he hasn’t played well. Five goals in 32 games isn’t enough production for a player who netted 18 over 48 last season.

It’s not so much that he’s expected to score goals. For better or worse, Stepan’s supposed to be their number one center. Occasionally, that means finishing around the net. He’s scored five times on 76 shots. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to translate a low shooting percentage (6.6). Compared with ’12-13, it’s not in the ballpark. Last year, he scored 18 on 108 achieving a career high 16.7 percent. Certainly, he benefitted from playing with Nash. They finished 1-2 in goal scoring. Nash had 21. Stepan beat out Nash in team scoring with 44 points. Nash had 42.

Aside from a lower shooting percentage which is on pace for the worst of his career, Stepan is struggling mightily on face-offs. Despite taking the most draws, he’s 248 and 308 (44.6 percent). Unfortunately, this has been a sore spot since he entered the league in ’10-11. Even last year, Stepan won 45.9 percent. Astonishingly, that was a career high. During his four-year career, he’s averaged 43.6. That’s not a high enough percentage. Especially playing for a coach who demands a higher offensive tempo. In order to have success, the team must have puck possession. Only one center on the roster wins consistently. Brian Boyle is at 55.1 percent (193 and 157). Most are in the defensive zone.

Not being able to win face-offs hurts your offense. Especially if you lose key draws that start in the offensive zone. How many times have we seen this team start a power play by losing the draw and having the puck cleared? It allows opponents to kill the first 25-30 seconds. No wonder the power play isn’t consistent. Sure. It’s improved under current assistant Scott Arniel ranking 13th at 19.0 percent. Outside of Richards who’s just over 50.0 percent, how much better could it be if Stepan won more consistently in the faceoff circle? Derick Brassard also loses over half. As a team, the Rangers are tied with the Ducks for 18th in face-offs (48.9 percent). Unlike Anaheim, they don’t possess enough skill to get by.

It’s understood that Stepan is only in his fourth year. The 23-year old former ’08 second round pick has been very successful. In 244 career games, he has 61 goals and 99 assists totaling 160 points. Of the entire 2008 Draft class, that ranks fifth best- trailing Steven Stamkos (409), Drew Doughty (199), Erik Karlsson (192) and Jordan Eberle (183). Unlike the top four, he wasn’t a first round pick and doesn’t possess the same talent. The former University Of Wisconsin product does it with intelligence and work ethic. Similar to Chris Drury. Sometimes, he overthinks. There have been a number of odd man situations where he’s passed up wide open shots. He’s a very unselfish player who thinks pass first. It’s not his natural instinct to shoot. But on an offensively challenged team, they need more goal production.

This hasn’t been a good stretch. Entering tomorrow night’s game against the Blue Jackets, the Blueshirts are 3-5-1 in their last nine. That followed consecutive road wins at Dallas and Nashville. In fact, they took three of five on a road trip that concluded November. Four of their five games this month have come at home. They’ve lost all of them (0-3-1) outscored 16-7. That includes a shootout loss to the Devils. In each defeat, Stepan doesn’t have a single point and is minus-four. Since a 2-0 win at Nashville on 11/20, he is without a goal over the last nine. Prior to that, he went eight straight without one. That followed his second career hat trick on 11/2 and a goal versus Pittsburgh on 11/6.

Ironically, that coincided with his best stretch. Between 10/29 and 11/16, Stepan tallied nine points (4-5-9) in nine games. The Rangers won all six in which he tallied a point. For the season, they are 12-3-0 when Stepan registers a point. Dating back to Oct. 29 when they defeated the Islanders 3-2, they are a perfect 12-0-0 since. Strange coincidence? I don’t think so. This team plays better when Stepan is going well. It’s time for him to Step Up.

The Ship Be Sinking: Little known Predator Rich Clune had no problem beating Henrik Lundqvist in a scene that becoming a disturbing trend for the Rangers.
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

Losing is one thing. As a loyal and passionate fan of this team whose family has attended games since 1996, we’ve had our share of stinkers. Between ’97-98 through ’03-04, the Rangers didn’t make the playoffs once. Since Henrik Lundqvist’s arrival in ’05-06, we’ve had it much better. The Rangers have qualified for the postseason seven of the last eight years (’06-’09, ’11-13). In that time, they’ve had some good teams do respectably. Four teams advanced past the first round with the ’11-12 Blueshirts reaching the Conference Finals. Following the team’s exciting Winter Classic win over the Flyers, Garden CEO Jim Dolan proclaimed that they were close to winning a Stanley Cup. They fell six shy of the goal.

Fast forward nearly two years later and the current ’13-14 outfit is much further from competing for a championship. To quote one of my favorite Dire Straits songs, “You’re so far away from me.” Literally, that explains a lot with this franchise. When they didn’t win it all in 2012, Team President and GM Glen Sather listened to the media outcry that they needed another finisher acquiring Rick Nash from the Blue Jackets. Former core members Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky went the other way. At the time, I was one of few critics who thought it was a mistake. Breaking up a team that won a division and posted the East’s best record and made the first Conference Finals appearance since ’97 didn’t make much sense. Neither did allowing Brandon Prust, Ruslan Fedotenko and John Mitchell to leave without replacing them. Even Stu Bickel had a role defining the team toughness under former coach John Tortorella.

That team didn’t back down from anyone. They fought you tooth and nail until the final buzzer. Ask the Devils if their six-game Conference Final win came easy. In Games 5 and 6, those Rangers rallied from three-goal and two-goal deficits before going down- forcing their bitter Hudson rival to earn it. Despite not possessing much scoring, they always pushed back. That also better explains why they were able to avoid elimination in the first two rounds- rallying from a 3-2 deficit to beat the Senators and ousting the Capitals in a hard fought seven games. Resiliency was a trademark for the Black and Blueshirts. Garden Faithful were proud to support the team and loved the character they played with.

Since, it’s been all downhill. Following an inconsistent shortened season that cost Tortorella his job despite having good success, Sather hired ‘safe choice’ Alain Vigneault. Vigneault guided the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011. Despite a talented roster featuring The Sedins, Ryan Kesler along with goalies Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider, they never delivered the franchise’s first Cup. That team blew series leads of 2-0 and 3-2 falling in seven games to the Bruins. Most disheartening was that Boston manhandled them in the deciding game 4-0 in Vancouver. The next two seasons, Vigneault’s teams were good enough to win the Northwest but failed miserably in the postseason losing in five to the Kings and swept by the Sharks. Dating back to the conclusion of the Stanley Cup, the Canucks lost 10 of their last 11 in the playoffs. That led to Vigneault’s dismissal. Ironically, Tortorella replaced him making it a coach swap.

When Sather decided to make the change, he cited that he wanted the Rangers to play a more aggressive style. Unlike Tortorella, Vigneault encourages a more up tempo system that should improve the offense. However, that hasn’t been the case. Following tonight’s 4-1 humiliation at the hands of the Predators, the Rangers are 15-16-1 with 32 points through their first 32 games. Counting Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Capitals, the Rangers have been held to two goals or fewer in 19 of 32. Their record is a disappointing 4-15-0. That’s despite boasting one of the league’s best goalies Henrik Lundqvist, who just signed a seven-year $59.5 million extension. In case you’re wondering, Lundqvist’s record this season when the team scores two or less is 2-13-0 with a 2.99 GAA and .885 save percentage. His only wins (2) were shutouts. If that doesn’t scream something’s wrong, nothing will.

”The only thing I know right now is it can only go up,” Lundqvist said after the team dropped its fourth straight (0-3-1) at MSG. ”It’s extremely tough mentally, and you try to be positive. You have to.”

”There were certain areas we talked about before the game,” Vigneault detailed. ”I thought we started off all right, but it makes it real challenging when you are down 2-0 early.”

Even when he makes changes by inserting Arron Asham, Derek Dorsett and Dominic Moore, it doesn’t light a fire. Instead, the ’13-14 Rangers don’t respond. They lost convincingly to a mediocre low scoring opponent who started their third string goalie. Predictably, Carter Hutton had no trouble winning for the first time since Nov. 6 finishing with 28 saves. Lundqvist faced less and stopped 22. This isn’t about the goalie as much as it is about the team in front of him. However, the former Vezina winner isn’t having a good season. He’s been allowing bad goals at inopportune moments. In the past under Tortorella playing a defensive style, Lundqvist rose to the occasion. Facing a higher quality of shots, he hasn’t been as sharp. Maybe that coach knew what was best with the current personnel.

Making matters worse, Ryan Callahan sprained his left knee following a hit delivered in the first period. He will be out four to six weeks. Already without Marc Staal, who missed his second consecutive game with a concussion that Vigneault oddly termed “minor,” the Rangers have their work cut out.  Already 0-2-1 on a team record nine-game home stand, they must right the ship. They’re 5-8-1 at MSG. Feeling the heat from displeased fans, they haven’t responded yet to adversity.

”This crowd is a demanding crowd. You can hear the crowd getting on them, letting them know what they thought,” Nashville goal scorer Rich Clune accurately depicted.

”Everyone has to step up a little more,” Dan Girardi said. ”He brings a lot to the team, a lot of different characteristics.”

Entering play, Clune hadn’t scored a point with 69 penalty minutes in 17 games this season. By the end of the night, he had his first goal and first assist later setting up ex-Cap Matt Hendricks. That was his second goal. For those keeping score, Paul Gaustad tallied his first two assists and scored the empty netter to cap another lifeless effort. These aren’t household names. Yet with every loss, the Rangers are making it a habit to get scored on by fourth liners. How many firsts can they allow to opponents? It harkens back to when the franchise couldn’t get out of its own way missing the postseason seven consecutive seasons (’98-’04).

Much of it has to do with the mismatched roster Sather put together. He never replaced the role players who did whatever it took to help the team win. While I’m not advocating overpaying Prust as the Canadiens did two summers ago, the combination of lost grit and toughness has made the Rangers an easy team to play against. Nobody sticks up for fallen teammates. Even the Mike Rupp trade for Darroll Powe looks bad. Though he’s been hurt, Rupp is part of the Wild roster. More than you can say for Powe, who’s appeared in one game while spending the year in Hartford. Penalty killing isn’t the issue. Team toughness is. If you look at the current roster, the only tough guy is Dorsett and he’s a middleweight. It’s no way to operate.

Opponents are no longer afraid. They don’t fear the Rangers and disrespect them at every turn. What you get is mixed results like we’re seeing this year. When the new coach in the first year of a five-year deal worth $10 million is already firing controversial remarks about the roster, that’s an eye opener. It’s also a direct shot at Sather. Who said the soft spoken Vigneault wasn’t like Tortorella? Maybe not in stature. But he’s already ripped this team plenty. Will he even survive the season? Why should Sather get to fire a hand picked coach? Isn’t it about time he starts looking in the mirror. It’s an organization in disarray. To quote Micheal Ray Richardson, “The ship be sinking.”

Faced with the first crisis in his coaching tenure, Alain Vigneault has made changes to the Rangers lineup for tonight’s game against Nashville. Obviously disappointed with how the team is performing, he is hoping Hartford recall Arron Asham and a healthy Derek Dorsett can provide a spark. With J.T. Miller sent back down, he’s also reinserting veteran center Dominic Moore.

“I’m shifting things because we’re .500, so I think at .500 I’ve got some latitude here,” Vigneault told a group of reporters this afternoon following a team skate. “Playing two players that bring a more physical bite to our team, maybe that will make some other players compete at a higher level.”

At least he’s not standing pat. What’s really going on here is Vigneault’s realized he doesn’t have a lot to work with. Glen Sather has done a terrible job the last two off seasons. When he traded Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov as part of the Rick Nash deal, the Rangers’ depth took a hit. Combined with the departure of Brandon Prust, Ruslan Fedotenko and John Mitchell, it severely hurt the roster John Tortorella coached during last shortened season. A point I kept hammering home was that you don’t break up a team that reached the Conference Final. In doing so, Sather took a huge risk. It’s resulted in a lost identity that could become a losing culture if this keeps up.

It’s no secret that the Rangers don’t compete like they used to. Even Ryan Callahan hasn’t performed up to expectations. He doesn’t finish off guys the same. Aside from inconsistent scoring, the Rangers captain isn’t as noticeable. That can’t happen under any circumstance. Neither can Carl Hagelin continue to slump. When he returned, he was their best player. Notice that he hasn’t produced since Nash came back. Vigneault was using him as a top six forward. Forced to play third line minutes, he isn’t having any success. Hagelin was never a big scorer to begin with. Perhaps increased expectations hurt. He’s more effective when he’s surrounded with better talent. Vigneault might want to consider moving him back on a line with Brad Richards and Nash.

With Chris Kreider now a top six forward, he’s not going anywhere. After initial success with Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello, he’s playing with Nash and Richards. That’s left Vigneault to keep Zuccarello and Stepan together. If he could figure it out with Derick Brassard, scoring might not be as big an issue. A big difference between how Tortorella used him and how Vigneault does is the former coach played him at center more. When he came over as part of the Marian Gaborik trade, he was consistent. That hasn’t been the case this season. If Vigneault went with a 1-3 of Richards, Stepan and Brassard, it would create better balance. He seems more concerned with having Moore and Brian Boyle center different lines. Odd considering that he teaches offense. You can’t have two similar checking types on your third and fourth line.

I get the need for the Blueshirts to play a more grinding style. Without Dorsett, they’re vanilla. His energy rubs off. Hopefully, that will help. As for Asham, he makes his season debut after spending the first two months in Hartford. It had to be tough for a seasoned vet who’s played for all three locals along with the Flyers and Pens. He’ll have something to prove. As long as he doesn’t take an ill advised penalty, I can live with him. By playing Asham, Vigneault is sitting Benoit Pouliot and Taylor Pyatt. That’s the way it should be. Move guys in and out until you get results.

At 15-15-1, there’s plenty of time for the Rangers to turn it around. Three points behind second place Washington and tied for third with Carolina, they can’t continue to waste chances at home. The Devils are a point back and have won all three meetings with two left. The Flyers also are playing better hockey and are fifth with 29 points. Just two behind. Either they shape up or this season becomes a write off. That would mean much bigger changes. Not exactly what was expected. Henrik Lundqvist makes his fourth consecutive start. He’ll be opposed by Carter Hutton. There’s no reason they shouldn’t come out with two points.

Mikhail Grabovski rips a slap shot past Henrik Lundqvist to convert a penalty shot.
AP Photo/John Minchillo

How many have attended games on their birthday? The first one was a nice present from the Rangers on Dec. 8, 1995 when Brian Leetch set up Pat Verbeek for an overtime winner on the power play over the Red Wings. That memory still holds a special place in my heart. Tonight, not so much. At least I got to meet Anson Carter and Al Trautwig. A day after losing to the Devils in OT, the Rangers embarrassed themselves in a listless 4-1 loss to the Capitals at MSG.

”It’s one of those things. It’s not going to come from anyone else except from the 22 guys in here,” slumping center Derek Stepan said. ”We have to find a way to grab it. Forget about what happened in the first (number) of games.

”It doesn’t matter if you were playing well, playing bad. It doesn’t matter. We have to start playing as a group.”

It was every bit as bad as the score indicated. Uncompetitive against a team they previously owned, the Rangers played passionless hockey on the Garden ice. This was a disgrace. If you thought losing last night was bad, you were sadly mistaking. I don’t have the words other than to express how disappointing the 2013-14 Blueshirts are shaping up to be. How else can you explain 15-15-1? Even with Henrik Lundqvist standing on his head in a lifeless first period where his team allowed repeated odd-man rushes, they didn’t respond. Despite being even in shots (7-7), Lundqvist made four big stops keeping it scoreless.

What transpired in the second was humbling. The Caps scored twice in a 25-second span breaking open a scoreless game. First, it was the shift from Hell for John Moore. In light of Mike Del Zotto’s struggles and Marc Staal probably missing the game due to a suspected concussion, Moore has gotten a free pass. He has been brutal. Already having trouble staying on his feet (he fell during the first), Moore suffered more hiccups leading directly to Ranger killer Jason Chimera depositing a Martin Erat rebound with Lundqvist helpless. It was like watching a Chinese fire drill. Almost reminding me of something out of the pre-lockout teams that couldn’t get out of their own way. If that wasn’t bad enough, Cap immortal Steve Olesky scored what else but his first from Jay Beagle past an unscreened Lundqvist. I have no clue what he was doing. He never moved. That was a crusher.

”We felt them deflate a little bit,” Oleksy disturbingly said.

You don’t expect our goalie to continue allowing such weak goals. He’s always been so reliable. The backbone of the team. If he gives in due to the team’s soft defense and vanilla custard checking, they’re in for a long year. It doesn’t look like Staal will be back anytime soon. That means Alain Vigneault must play Del Zotto more along with Justin Falk and Moore. Unless the organization feels Dylan McIlrath is ready for a recall, there’s zero toughness. Not even Ryan McDonagh plays with enough edge. The impact of Mike Sauer is still being felt. Like it or not, he was much more important to the team’s chances.

The Rangers were outscored 3-0 and outshot 17-10 in a dismal second. The whole period was a blur. While I was celebrating my birthday and reuniting with some of our close friends, the Blueshirts did zilch. Oh. They may have been credited with 10 shots on Philipp Grubauer. But I can’t remember the rookie having to make a single big save. Meanwhile, the Caps continued an all out assault on Lundqvist. That included a bogus Mikhail Grabovski successful penalty shot that made it 3-0 at 18:26. I still have no idea how they awarded him one. On the heels of some missed calls Saturday, it made no sense. I didn’t even realize it was a penalty shot until I was in the restroom and heard the crowd chanting, “Hen-rik, Hen-rik!” At that point, I knew he would score and that was confirmed by the collective groans. Apparently, he froze him with a rare slap shot top shelf. In no shape or form am I pinning this on Lundqvist. But you expect him to stop that.

When they weren’t skating circles around our team, the Caps bullied a punchless Rangers, who didn’t defend Rick Nash when Alex Ovechkin mixed it up with him during a scrum. Now Nash is a big boy and can fight his own battles. But you can’t risk him getting punched in the head. Without Brandon Prust and to a lesser extent Brandon Dubinsky, this team has lost its identity. Nobody comes to the aid of a teammate. It’s about as vanilla a roster as you can get. Congrats Glen Sather. You’ve outdone yourself.

I spent the third talking to an incensed MSG security guard and someone else about how bad things have gotten. While that took place, Nate Schmidt made it 4-0. As I was filing out with someone else celebrating a recent birthday, Benoit Pouliot scored his third from Del Zotto to break Grubauer’s shutout. Of course, he earned his first win with 31 saves. There are still seven games left on a nine-game homestand. But the clock is ticking. Frustration is boiling over. After the game, the Rangers held a players-only meeting.

“You can talk all you want behind closed doors,” Vigneault fumed. “It’s the 200 by 85 that games are decided.” He might be tame by comparison to John Tortorella but his postgame was terse and about as angry as I’ve heard him. He still believes the roster is much better than this. It just hasn’t performed adequately.

“The crowd had nothing to stand for tonight,” McDonagh said. “And that’s something we’re ashamed of.”

“It’s getting old,” a frustrated Brad Richards added after being one of the few skaters who gave a max effort. J.T. Miller being one of the few exceptions.

”We need to grasp it here, need to play with some desperation,” Stepan pointed out. ”That’s the biggest key right now. Points are points right now. You have to win your hockey games.”

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Nate Schmidt, Caps (goal-2nd of season, 4 SOG +3 in 15:13)

2nd Star-Mikhail Grabovski, Caps (penalty shot goal, 4 SOG, 8 for 13 on faceoffs, +2 in 18:07)

1st Star-Steve Olesky, Caps (goal, assist, 3 blocked shots, +2 in 16:57)