Game 5, October 12, 2013: NYR @ STL

Another game, another loss. At least I have some happy Rangers moments to break down tonight and I don't have to pretend something doesn't exist. I mean.... what?

I know I said I wouldn't post news on this site, but there's something before this game I actually was bothered by. You can read more of the specifics on Andrew Gross' twitter as well as the NYR blog, but only four players showed up to the optional skate today. Two of them were goaltenders. If I'm Vigneault right now, I'm wondering how I've already lost this team so far that nobody seems interested in:

• Their defensive assignments on the ice
• Worrying that your goaltender is getting lit for 15 goals in two games with zero response
• Your star player is taking high hits with zero response
• Apparently making any additional effort to learn the system 

Yes, it's a long road trip with a lot of games. No, this would not fly under Torts. But beyond that... part of what endeared me to the Rangers of just two years ago was that there was no reason to believe any team would beat them. There were working their tails off every day to improve as a team. Chemistry was built, defensive positioning was learned, and if on game day they got beat, it was because the other team was better than them. In the Sharks and Ducks games, I watched a grand total of 2.5 periods of Rangers hockey. And I hope AV and Cally are as pissed about it as I am and start throwing something in the locker room to get a point across. 

Again tonight against the Blues, we saw a little bit of inspired hockey, but there were still a lot of defensive miscues. Let's take a look at what happened:

Fighting in the NHL: A Post with a Misleading Title

A lot has been made on the internet in the past few days about the (non)response to Stuart's elbow to the head of Nash in the Rangers' game against the Sharks. There are those that say response should have been immediate and ruthless, and others that say the call on the ice was enough. It is impossible to deny that the faction of people deterred by the violence of hockey and other contact sports is growing, and has a valid argument in the form of "player safety".

Yes, these things on the ice are human. They have brains that can be scrambled, limbs that can be broken, and important arteries dangerously exposed (just ask Doug Murray). They face enormous risk every time they suit up and skate out for practices and games alike. What fascinates me is how different sports are now from where they used to be.

October 8, 2013, Game 3: NYR at SJS

No.

Just no.

October 7th, 2013, Game 2: NYR at LAK

To say we saw a different Rangers team tonight against the Kings than we did last Thursday is beyond an understatement. They forechecked hard, they hit hard, they skated hard... other than a few minutes at the start of the third and one glaring turnover, we saw a full 60 minutes tonight. Zucc was everywhere, Nash was everywhere, Pouliot was everywhere, Richards looked alive, Boyle was using his body, Dorsett made some great plays... we could go on. They earned all three of their goals for tonight by punishing their opponent all night every time a King touched the puck. However, to say they were attractive goals is simply untrue. If they play 80 more games like tonight's my job is going to be quite difficult. All that said, let's take a look at how it all went down...

What To Watch For: Power Play Zone Time

Coming into the season, there was a lot of excitement about finally having a high scoring power play like the ones AV coached out in Vancouver. Granted, it's only been one game so far, but we already have one special teams goal to our name thanks to Marc Staal. So the question really is... was the power play last night an immediate improvement over the Torts/Sully era of power play? To make a comparison, we will be looking into how the time on the power play was spent, whether it was in the offensive or defensive zones.

The theory of the power play is simple. Spend lots of time in the offensive zone and generate shots, and you will get more goals. If you are spending a lot of time in the defensive zone, you're either not getting penetration to create scoring opportunities, or you're giving up shorthanded attempts. As such, we will be comparing Thursday's 25% successful power play to the 25% successful power play from February 17, 2013, when Sullivan ran the show.

October 3rd, 2013, Game 1: NYR at PHX

This was not an easy game to watch. The Rangers did not look like they had their best game tonight, and there was a lot of disjointed play as it looked like they were not comfortable yet. A fair number of good things happened, which should give all Rangers fans hope for this season. There will need to be a lot of steps taken in a hurry, especially in the back end, if they expect to keep up with the high powered offenses in their division.

What I Do Here:

Welcome to The Rangers Breakdown! As the hockey season continues, I will be posting after each New York Rangers game, and I will be describing each goal for and against the Blueshirts as they follow their quest for the Stanley Cup. As someone who is fascinated by the circles and arrows aspect of hockey, I tend to watch games from the perspective of "why is this happening now?", and I'm hoping we can get some discussion going about where the root causes lie. On off-days, I'll talk about other aspects of the Rangers play, including some stats that won't be in the box score or a detailed analysis of a near miss. One thing this site will not be is a Rangers news site, as there are many other places you can get Rangers and NHL news with much greater depth and insight (such as Blueshirt Banter, The New York Rangers Blog, Backhand Shelf, etc.). Go visit them, they're nice people and know many things about hockey.

And now without further ado, let's take a look at the game against Phoenix that happened Thursday night...