Van Riemsdyk in attack mode
In the split second before a defenseman decides whether to pinch in the offensive zone or hang back and play it safe, a lot goes through his mind: the score and time of the game, which team has the numbers advantage, which direction the puck is heading, if the opponent is moving forward or backward, who has the puck and what he tends to do with it.
It’s a lot to process. But for Trevor van Riemsdyk, now in his third season, the process is speeding up and the game is slowing down.
Perhaps not coincidentally, he has two goals and two assists in his last nine games, after posting just two assists in his previous 19 games.
“I’m not really focused on trying to get points or anything like that — it’s just focusing on being in that second layer on the rush and being active,” van Riemsdyk said. “It makes it a lot tougher for teams to defend us when we’re jumping into the play.” With Niklas Hjalmarsson currently out with an upper- body injury, van Riemsdyk was bumped from the third pairing with Brian Campbell (“Soup Dogg,” as van Riemsdyk called him) to the top pairing with Duncan Keith. Both are offensive- minded partners, so van Riemsdyk’s game doesn’t change much either way.
“He and I have been really trying to push that pace and get up in the play and help out,” Campbell said. “We talk about it a lot. We’re trying to play an all- around game, but we’re trying to support and help out.
“I feel like our game goes to another level when we’re getting in the play. He’s done a great job, scored a couple of big goals over the last few weeks.”
After playing all 82 games last season, van Riemsdyk stumbled out of the gate this year and then missed 20 games with a shoulder injury. He finally started hitting his stride in January and has been averaging nearly 19 minutes per game since.
“Coming out of that injury, he’s been steadily improving,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “His instincts defensively are strong, and he anticipates well, but his patience and play recognition are high- end. We’ve been encouraging him to get involved in the attack.”