Rangers vs. Flames: Cooked in Calgary

Ten games in, the Rangers are already testing everyone’s patience—inconsistent effort, patchwork lines, and a familiar lack of scoring leave more questions than answers.

Rangers vs. Flames: Cooked in Calgary
© Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
  • This is going to be a pretty macro-level analysis, which will skirt the line of violating my self-imposed "wait until game 15" limitation on takes on this team. So be it. But, if you missed it or forgot what happened in this game, just read the recap here. Or don't, because why do that to yourself? (But seriously do, because Chris does a great job on the recaps.)
  • The New York Rangers are without Matt Rempe for this road trip. That matters, believe it or not. That fourth line has been good for the Rangers and being without them in full form is a setback.
  • They're also still without Vincent Trocheck, who has yet to start skating. That's not great. This is the NHL so of course we have no idea what the injury actually is. Chip is persuaded it's a concussion. And with him on LTIR, we really have no idea when he'll be back.
  • For just about any team, losing your second line center for an extended period of time is going to be difficult. And center depth is not one of the Rangers' areas of strength. That leads to the lines looking like this:
  • Look, Taylor Raddysh has been great. Hell, he scored a hat trick in the last game. But having him on your top line? That's ... a choice. I've made it no secret that I've wanted Gabe Perreault to spend this season developing in Hartford. If first line Taylor Raddysh is the other choice with Mika Zibanejad displaced from J.T. Miller's wing by the Trocheck injury, then I'm pretty quickly coming around to the idea of calling him up and throwing him in there.