With just one game remaining before the holiday break, the Rangers are surprising us all by still being winless on the second half of a back-to-back this season. There is an illness going around the locker room, which certainly played a role in last night’s loss in Nashville. But on the other hand, this team simply can’t put up stinkers like this anymore. The Rangers managed one last second goal on 17 total shots against a bad Nashville Predators team. The only silver lining was Jonathan Quick, who might be a decent trade deadline acquisition for a contender if he wants to go for one more Cup.
Quick was an absolute force, stopping 30 of 31 shots and doing just about everything he could to give the Rangers a chance to win. Unfortunately the team in front of him (and Igor Shesterkin) cannot sustain offense consistently enough to meet their goalies halfway. Missing JT Miller, Gabe Perreault, and Adam Fox didn’t help, but the team still had Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere.
As we approach the holidays, I’m recalling that awful no show game against the Devils right before the holiday break last season. That was the metaphorical nail in the coffin last year. Was last night’s loss to Nashville this season’s version? It’s getting more and more difficult to find pockets in the upcoming schedule where they should go on a run.
We try to stay optimistic here, but boy is Brennan Othmann a prime example of not cashing in on value when you had the chance. Othmann is just not an NHL player. He has a great shot, but that’s it. Maybe it’s nerves or stress of knowing it’s possibly his last shot, but he missed the net a bunch or partially fanned on a bunch of chances yesterday. Years ago, when Othmann was putting up ridiculous numbers in the OHL, people really thought the shooting abilities would translate to the minor and NHL levels, and it just has not been the case. Thinking back to the last few years and what the Rangers could have had if they made him available.
This is another prime example of it’s better to trade someone a year too early than a year too late.
With Adam Fox hopefully returning soon, the Rangers will be faced with an interesting lineup decision. Given the numbers game, Scott Morrow is probably going to be sent down. He shouldn’t be, if only to see if he can continue what’s been a nice stretch–but not without their blemishes–of games. He needs time in the NHL. The Rangers need puck moving ability and are defensively strong enough to let Morrow learn on the fly to improve his defensive game. Morrow should stick at the expense of Urho Vaakanainen or Carson Soucy, both known entities at this point.
Just play the kids, let them grow. See what they are. It’s not like this season is going anywhere.