NHL New York Rangers

New York Rangers’ Vulnerability Due To Lack of Depth Down the Middle

Fresh Videos

By

James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Looks can often be deceiving. The New York Rangers won 13 out of 15 games, steamrolling through some of the league’s elite squads like a high-powered locomotive. Although the Blueshirts appeared to be a premier team, 72 hours have proven that they are as fragile as a frail sheet of tempered glass. New York finds themselves vulnerable due to their lack of depth down the middle.

The Rangers have failed to obtain a true No. 1 center since Mark Messier. Derek Stepan, who the Blueshirts have claimed to be their primary center, is most often referred to as a second line center by NHL analysts. The Rangers are paying Derick Brassard $7 million this year, the same amount earned by Paul Stastny of the St. Louis Blues. However, Brassard is deemed to be a second or third line center, a role he thrived in during New York’s run to the Stanley Cup.

The Blueshirts’ third line center, Kevin Hayes, is a rookie who, although has displayed tremendous promise, is still transitioning from the college game. Many fear he will wear down in the second half of the season because of the demanding professional schedule. College games are only played on the weekends, where as in the NHL, Hayes has to gear up for battle on a nightly basis.

Lastly, the Rangers resigned Dominic Moore to anchor the fourth line. Aside from those four individuals, New York does not have any other true centers. In fact, Hayes was a winger his last two years at Boston College and transitioned back to center to fill the void in the middle of the ice.

Losing a center to injury is like drilling a hole through tempered glass – it will shatter into millions of pieces. When Stepan left Tuesday night’s bout with the New York Islanders, the team once believed to have been as unbreakable as Louis Zamperini, laid in shambles on Madison Square Garden’s fabled ice. Without Stepan’s presence, the Rangers went on to lose two consecutive game by a combined total of 6-0.

While it was only two games, there is cause for alarm in Rangerstown. The Blueshirts’ annual downfall in the postseason can be attributed to their inability to match up the opposing centers. Last season, the Los Angeles Kings wore down the Rangers in five games with physical play and dominance in the middle.

In 2013, the Boston Bruins demolished the Rangers due to excellent play form Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Chris Kelly and Gregory Campbell. The Blueshirts could not even counter by putting four centers on the ice, as Brad Richards was famously scratched for the last two games of the series.

Without a doubt, the center position is the most important out of the three forward positions. In addition to distributing the puck to the streaking wingers and manning the slot, the center has the most responsibility of the three forwards. It is the center’s duty to backcheck hard, picking up the extra attacker to negate an odd-man rush. Most importantly, it is essential that the middle man control face-offs; it is this aspect of the game in which Ranger centers struggle tremendously.

Even during their winning streak, Joe Micheletti said on the MSG telecast that the team was doing everything else well except winning faceoffs. Failing to control the puck forces the Blueshirts to expend most of their energy retrieving the black rubber disc as opposed to forming an attack. It also enables opponents to control play, dictate the pace of the team and ultimately, leads to scoring chances on Henrik Lundqvist.

Although Stepan is neither a face-off guru nor the most gifted skater, he is the smartest and most responsible New York middle man. The little things that Stepan does so efficiently stood out in his absence. The Garden Faithful have seen their Rangers give up more defensive breakdowns, miscommunications and odd-man rushes in the two nights without Stepan than during they did in the 15 games prior.

The Rangers need to sharpen up and improve down the middle, whether it be in-house or through trade. Everything is magnified in the playoffs, especially a team’s Achilles heel. While they may journey deep into the playoffs, if the Rangers do not address the center position, they will face a similar postseason exit this spring.

Adam Feld is a Rangers writer for www.RantSports.com.  Follow him on Twitter @trublunyblog.  Like him on facebook or add him to your network on google

Share Tweet
Trending Now on