Post Sports+ Inside The Rangers
Rangers mailbag: A damning playoff stat, the defense blame game, the youth can wait
This marks the 42nd season since the Rockies abandoned Denver in 1982-83 to relocate to the Meadowlands as the New Jersey Devils under John McMullen’s ownership. Yes, there’s one missing if you do the math and that was the 2004-05 canceled season.
Since that time, the tri-state area has never been shut out of the playoffs, the Devils at this point holding the best opportunity to extend the streak. If the season were to end today, as the vernacular goes, this would mark the sixth time New Jersey carried the area’s only flag into the tournament.
The Rangers have also been the lone postseason combatant six times while the Islanders have been proud and center just twice…and one of those times in 2021 when attendance was restricted because of COVID.
There’s been a three-way house party four times — you’d think more, right — in 2023, 2007, 1994 and 1990.
This tri-state trivia is brought you by the mailbag, which many readers were happy to fill with questions via our Texts from the Blue Seats campaign.
So let’s dive into a few post-deadline questions...
It seems like any new addition to this team has taken games to mesh. The J.T. Miller trade had a no-show in Boston before the subsequent win, then the most recent trades had a collapse in Ottawa followed by a no-show vs Columbus. Why is it that this team needs so much time to attempt to gel? — Andrew from Sayreville NJ and Eddie Iacobelli, Jr.
I’m not sure that necessarily applies. The afternoon game in Boston was a bit of cluster-bramble with J.T. Miller having arrived in the early morning on a charter flight from Dallas. That was just hours before head coach Peter Laviolette devised the two-center theory by pairing Miller on a line with Mika Zibanejad.
But the Rangers had integrated Juuso Parssinen and Calvin de Haan just fine before the lost weekend over which Carson Soucy was the only new addition. Don’t think unfamiliarity with teammates or with the system were a particular problem against Ottawa and Columbus.
At what point does this coaching staff take some blame for the defensive state of this team? Add to the fact they started playing prevent D with nine minutes left in a critical game against the Sens, makes you wonder if they have any clue on how to deploy a lineup or manage a game. — Robert Verderese
It’s past time. Laviolette attempted to, pardon the expression, defend his team’s approach over the final 10 minutes in Ottawa by suggesting that the team had not, in fact, sat back in an effort to protect what had become a one-goal lead. That had been a theme after the Caps overcame a 2-1 third period deficit at the Garden on Wednesday to win in overtime. Fact is, the Rangers are 1-6 in overtime (plus 1-0 in shootouts) while allowing the tying goal in the third period in five of those six OT defeats.
To my untrained eye, other teams seem to do a better job than the Rangers of defending by physically picking up men. The Rangers seem to be in the area of players, but watch the play/puck and rely more on getting sticks into passing lanes. 1. Is that true, and 2. If yes, is that how they are coached to play? — Gerald Yacavone
This would be an excellent question for Phil Housley, the Hall of Fame defenseman who runs the team’s defense as Laviolette’s associate coach. (Staff members are not accessible to the media.)
The Rangers have been slow on their reads essentially all season and have left wide swaths of good ice open in front of the net. Turnovers generally lead to chaos when the team generally compounds one mistake with the puck with another two in poor coverage decisions.
Why is Laviolette so stubborn about giving the young guys proper opportunities to play? Specifically keeping Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard on the 3rd and 4th lines with limited opportunities. — Gabe Lampert
This is not unique to Laviolette, but I don’t believe I’d cite using Berard as a top-six forward as an example of bias. Loyalty is this head coach’s bedrock principle, but I believe he has shown too much loyalty to veterans such as Zibanejad — even going back to last year’s conference final when Alexis Lafrenière should have replaced No. 93 on PP1 — and to Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren early this season. Laviolette is not a benching coach. It is the hill he is going to perish on.
What has happened to Lafrenière? — Dennis Petruzzelli
There have been a number of disappointing developments throughout the season, but Lafrenière’s disappearing act has finally made it to the top of the least, I mean list. Lafrenière is surely the only forward selected first-overall in the draft not to be given a legitimate shot to play on the first power play for the
first five seasons of his career, but that does not explain how the winger’s impact has shrunk month by month and game by game. No goals, five assists and nine shots over the last 12 contests. Last season, there was a breakout. Next season, if Lafrenière is in New York, there will need to be a reclamation.
