Injury Report: Derek Stepan (11/6: Will return Saturday)

[broadwayblue]

How long have you been a Rangers fan? It's such a rare thing.

Just playing the odds the pp has to be good at some point!

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Well, given that Stepan is the only right handed forward shot that gets PP minutes, I suspect the power play might feel his loss more than you think.

That being said, team should be fine. Rangers have enough kids on the cusp that they can fill in. Could turn out to be a blessing in disguise if one of the young guys really grabs hold of the opportunity.

I hear you - and you are likely right - but if Fast, Kristo, or especially Haggerty makes the team, I am certain that AV will give him/them a look on the PP for precisely that reason.

 

[RangerGuru]

Don't know if anyone mentioned it but Andrew Gross reported today that St. Louis reached out to AV about possibly playing C

Kreider-MSL-Nash
Malone-Brassard-Zucc
Hagelin-Miller-Stempniak
Glass-Moore-Lombardi

Maybe?

 

[Raspewtin]

Did MSL ever play center in his career?

 

[Thirty One]

Of course it could be. But, comparing it to the Canes (who are not a cup contender) holds no relevance. So no, when comparing it to the Canes situation, it couldn't have been worse.

Words he didn't use: Canes, situation, dishwasher

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Well, given that Stepan is the only right handed forward shot that gets PP minutes, I suspect the power play might feel his loss more than you think.

That being said, team should be fine. Rangers have enough kids on the cusp that they can fill in. Could turn out to be a blessing in disguise if one of the young guys really grabs hold of the opportunity.

edit: misread that

 

[RangerGuru]

Did MSL ever play center in his career?

No he hasn't. Id test it out maybe in practice or a preseason game if I'm AV for a few shifts, what's the worst that can happen he stays where he currently is

 

[Beacon]

No he hasn't. Id test it out maybe in practice or a preseason game if I'm AV for a few shifts, what's the worst that can happen he stays where he currently is

Talk about teaching an old dog new tricks. Maybe Messier can play defense?

 

[RangerGuru]

Talk about teaching an old dog new tricks. Maybe Messier can play defense?

I mean it was St Louis's idea why not give him a shot haha

 

[Zil]

No he hasn't. Id test it out maybe in practice or a preseason game if I'm AV for a few shifts, what's the worst that can happen he stays where he currently is

No. They're not messing around with St. Louis at center to try and cover for a short term injury. That wouldn't even solve the major problem Stepan's injury creates, which is that they're left with one proven, defensively responsible center: Moore. Lindberg is the logical choice to land a spot and pick up some of that slack.

 

[Hire Sather]

Seems silly to make such a drastic change.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Did MSL ever play center in his career?

He came up in the Calgary system as a center. Not sure how much he actaully played at center in Vermont or St. Johns, but in the late 90s/early 00s it was fairly common to see him listed at C.

 

[aufheben]

Christ, we're not playing MSL at center.

It's gonna be Brassard/Miller/D. Moore, or Brassard/D. Moore/Miller.

That's absurdly drastic, literally the opposite of what should be done in this type of situation. Adjust appropriately and deal with it, no random experiments.

 

[Vinny DeAngelo]

Talk about teaching an old dog new tricks. Maybe Messier can play defense?

We already have a solid top 6. Keep mess at center! And the takes away the question of who gets the C. It's a win-win. I can see slats now "when u have the opportunity to pick up a guy like messier you have to go for it" lol

 

[Brooklyn Ranger]

Christ, we're not playing MSL at center.

It's gonna be Brassard/Miller/D. Moore, or Brassard/D. Moore/Miller.

That's absurdly drastic, literally the opposite of what should be done in this type of situation. Adjust appropriately and deal with it, no random experiments.

And Oscar Lundberg makes four. Go Oscar Go!

 

[profchaos2001]

All I have to say about our paper thin depth at center:

1) Krejci, Bergeron, Soderberg
2) Seguin, Spezza, Eakins
3) Duchene Mckinnon, Briere
4) Kopitar Richards Stoll
5) Crosby, Malkin, Sutter
6) Thorton, Pavelski Couture
7) Baskes Stasney Berglund
8) Stamkos Filpulla Jonhson

etc. in no particular order than alphabetically by team
LA demolished us on faceoffs in the SCF. This is going to be brutal.

 

[NYRFANMANI]

The moment Steps comes back we have:

Stepan, Brass, Miller, Moore.

Not too shabby. We lack a true magician though. Our top two spots are like part time magicians. But look at Pitt or Dallas, that's two magicians with both teams right there. Oh how nice that would be.

 

[Bring Back Avery]

The moment Steps comes back we have:

Stepan, Brass, Miller, Moore.

Not too shabby. We lack a true magician though. Our top two spots are like part time magicians. But look at Pitt or Dallas, that's two magicians with both teams right there. Oh how nice that would be.

No, we went the other way. Our magicians are along the blue line. Plus, we have a wizard between the pipes.

 

[chosen]

Of course it could be. But, comparing it to the Canes (who are not a cup contender) holds no relevance. So no, when comparing it to the Canes situation, it couldn't have been worse.

Announcing who is a Cup contender in September is silly. I doubt Carolina is a contender but how many people pegged the Rangers as Cup contenders last September?

 

[Gardner McKay]

Announcing who is a Cup contender in September is silly. I doubt Carolina is a contender but how many people pegged the Rangers as Cup contenders last September?

Let me rephrase since people want to dissect every word rather than taking a statement at face value. The canes don't care. As someone else said above, they will embrace the tank. The team has had zero playoff success over the past few years. No one is holding high expectations for them. The rangers do not have a 1st, could not embrace a tank, and have had large amounts of post season success over the last few years and therefore have high expectations. The teams could not be more different. Therefore it is irrelevant to use the canes as a comparable.

 

[Ail]

No, we went the other way. Our magicians are along the blue line. Plus, we have a wizard between the pipes.

I like magicians and wizards.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

I like magicians and wizards.

And hobbits.

 

[AHB*]

Talk about teaching an old dog new tricks. Maybe Messier can play defense?

Smart, older, talented players can switch positions. MSL is very smart defensively and obviously good offensively. For 10-15 games, maybe he could slot in down the middle.

It has happened before and isn't uncommon. Guys switch positions and it's much less drastic then players like Buff, Burns, Fedorov who all switched from offense to defense or vice versa.

 

[offdacrossbar]

msl at center ?

why not ? opens up a slot for a winger with size. hayes?

adds speed up the middle. we need that.

if anyone can do it, i would say msl can. hes smart and fast. and he approached av. hes on board obviously.

adds defensive responsibility and changes him to more creator than finisher but again, hes smart and skilled. problem is, hes one of our best shooters/finishers.

is msl capable of playing the 2 or 3 c for a month ? can he be more productive than say dom moore or oscar lindberg or whom ever?


brass
msl
miller
moore

might work. for a month.

count me as interested in hearing more.

 

[Ail]

Not opposed to MSL as a pivot. If he thinks he can do it, he probably can.