The brightest spotlight on any area of the New York Rangers in the playoffs shines on the blueline. In Game 2, they came to play.
By Robby Sabo
The blueline, those six individuals who make up the backbone of the skating area in the hockey rink, has been the focus the majority of the season for these Rangers.
Going from fourth in the NHL two seasons ago with a team goals against average of 2.32 and third with an average of 2.28 a season ago during their Presidents’ Trophy season, to dropping all the way to 15th this season with an average of 2.62, Alain Vigneault‘s hardened offensive philosophies started to be called into question all the more.
Throw the fact captain and best defender Ryan McDonagh is still out of the lineup, and Rangers fans everywhere are reaching for that Pepto Bismol and Tums double-time.
Wait, double-time? I meant triple-time.
The once proud staple of the organization suddenly started to look human with the likes of Dan Girardi and Marc Staal often fumbling their way through defensive coverages.
Something strange happened on Sunday, though.
At The Igloo in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this blueline played a solid game in helping its team to a 4-2 victory over the Penguins in helping even up the series at a game apiece.
Today we break down each performance of these six individuals:
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Kevin Klein
With McDonagh out indefinitely, it is Kevin Klein who now assumes the best d-man role for the New York Rangers.
He’s as solid as they come, and continued that solidness today in Game 2.
Finishing second on the team today with 23:20 of ice time, a +1, four blocked shots, and two shots on goal, Klein was easily the most steady man in front of the returning Henrik Lundqvist today.
His only bad mark came on the Penguins first goal as he had a chance to break it up, before it got to the free third man, but couldn’t quite get it done:
When Kleiner went to the penalty box for seven-minutes with just 8:17 to go in the game, all of Rangerstown held their breath.
Keith Yandle
Not since Brian Leetch and Sergei Zubov have the Rangers boasted such an offensive-minded defenseman like Keith Yandle.
Registering a team-high 42 assists on the season, Yandle delivered offensively in every way. He would’ve racked up even more points if AV used him on the first power-play unit the first half of the season in Dan Boyle‘s stead – but that’s neither here nor there.
Today in Pittsburgh Yandle gets a solid mark.
Playing is usually offensive role, Yands picked up the first goal of the game by sneaking in from the point and cleaning up the garbage created by J.T. Miller:
As far as the defensive side of things were considered, Yands was admirable all night.
His top negative came in the third period when he took a senseless penalty after the returning Evgeni Malkin got a little under his skin.
Dan Boyle
39-year old Dan Boyle deserves a ton of credit.
Despite witnessing the veteran defenseman struggle mightily in the tournament last spring, and then at times showing the same over-the-hill play during this regular season, he’s come out as steady as can be through the first six periods of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
He’s battled like hell in the one area he struggles most in (due to his age and size): Cleaning up the garbage in front of the crease.
It’s a tremendous job, for this club now needs him more than ever.
On Sunday Boyle played 19:53 and finished a +2. You can’t ask for much better than that.
Marc Staal
Although the night started with firm pairings – Staal-Klein, Yandle-McIlrath, Skjei-Boyle – it ended with much mixing and mashing thanks to Klein’s late penalty and AV’s lack of trust in Dylan McIlrath.
Whoever Marc Staal played with, he was solid, unlike Game 1.
Unlike Game 1, however, Dan Girardi was not his partner.
Staal led the team with over 25 minutes of ice-time and finished with two blocked shots and a +1 rating. The difference between his play in Game 1 and on Sunday was night and day.
He blew one or two coverages, but finished on the plus side of things as a whole.
Brady Skjei
22-years old and already two games of Stanley Cup Playoffs experience under his belt. For young Brady Skjei, the world must feel at his feet.
It’s obvious: When Ryan McDonagh went down to injury, it was going to be Skjei who would have to meet the call. He’s a great skater, solid on both ends of the ice, and represents the closest thing to a McDonagh in the organization.
Skjei’s performance through the first two games has been a mixed bag.
By no means could any fan be upset about his play, but the mistakes also cannot be ignored. They also need to be played through, however.
More time, experience and play will do Skjei wonders. The more “sticky” situations he faces, the more this Rangers blueline will eventually flourish.
Alain Vignault has very little problem trusting Skjei in critical situations. He has to.
Dylan McIlrath
With Dan Girardi out due to injury (and poor play), 23-year old Dylan McIlrath got the nod to see NHL ice for his first Stanley Cup Playoffs experience.
What did he provide? Well, he provided what you’d expect.
Early on it was clear the jitters were getting to him. He completely missed the puck on his first shift in his own end, resulting in a turnover.
After that he settled down a bit and actually got involved on the offensive end with his early-on partner, Yandle.
Later in the game he was beat twice in open ice. Once, Mats Zuccarello had to make a tremendous play in covering for the lumbering d-man.
While his high-end speed shows potential on certain plays – like the one he made against Shane Larkin during the last game of the regular season – his agility and overall skating ability leaves a lot to be desired:
McIlrath only played just under 10 minutes on Sunday. He finished with one giveaway, a shot on goal, and a +1 rating.
No, McIlrath will never be a top-four defenseman. Anybody can see that to the naked eye. He can, however, provide this charmin-soft lineup with many elements it desperately needs.
There are only two guys he should ever receive the nod over: Dan Girardi and Dan Boyle. Through two games, Boyle doesn’t deserve to lose his spot no matter how much he struggles to keep bodies out and away from the front of Hank.
As far as Girardi is concerned, we shall see. A healthy Girardi is the way to go, but it’s certainly encouraging to see McIlrath show some positives in his first playoffs action.
McIlrath should be used with caution, but never ruled out.
Final Thoughts
Playoff hockey in the NHL is a hell of a lot different than regular season action.
The physicality gets ramped up and the intensity flies. For the most part, these six individuals did their job today. And, they did it under very pressing situations (no McDonagh, Skjei and McIlrath with no experience, and Klein missing seven minutes late in the game).
While Lundqvist did come up with a few gems, yielding only 31 shots against such a high-powered and hot, speedy offense in Pittsburgh can only be viewed as a positive.
We shall see what Game 3 brings.