Dan Boyle Injury Will Hurt New York Rangers

By Matt Stillwell @MattNYR12 on October 11, 2014

 

Before the New York Rangers could play a preseason game, they lost their number-one center, Derek Stepan, to a broken leg. Now, one game into the regular season, they lose one of their top-three defensemen, and top power play quarterback, Dan Boyle, to a broken hand.

Of course, this is hardly reason to panic after one game. This does, however, expose a big flaw in the Rangers roster that has received little attention since the start of training camp, which is defensive depth.

Even at age 38, Boyle was brought in to be the power play contributor that the team has lacked since the days of Brian Leetch and Sergei Zubov. Now, the roster is left with a core of two-way and stay-at-home defensemen. This is not to disrespect Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal, or Dan Girardi. The truth is that neither of the remaining top-four defensemen in the Ranger lineup carry the power play pedigree and reputation that Boyle does.

The power play was dismal in the opening-night win over the St. Louis Blues. Yes, it’s only one game, but without Boyle, the power play figures to struggle even more.

The best reinforcement the Rangers can produce from the minors is Mike Kostka, an NHL veteran that had a poor preseason. The sixth defenseman on the roster is now Matt Hunwick, an unproven NHL commodity. What’s worse, the Rangers can’t address the lack of defenseman depth within the organization, as no prospect in the system is NHL-ready, not even touted but inconsistent prospect Dylan McIlrath.

Such a big deal was made out of the Rangers center depth upon the Derek Stepan injury, but the team is equipped to handle his absence. Young guys like J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes are prepared to contribute at the NHL level, and the team can afford to experiment with Martin St. Louis at center. Of course, it would be nice if Dominic Moore can dominate the face-off circle the same way he did on opening night, too.

The defensive corps does not have a Miller or Hayes-type that is ready to contribute, which is why Boyle’s injury could potentially hurt the Rangers more than the Stepan injury. So far, they have adapted well to the loss of Stepan, but it is going to be very tricky to replace Boyle.

Coach Alain Vigneault will have to get creative with the lineup, and Kevin Klein will see a lot more playing time.

Luckily for the Rangers, this issue comes to the forefront during Game 1 of the season, not game 82.

Matt Stillwell is a New York Rangers contributor for www.rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattNYR12!