DAWN OF A NEW SKJEI
Once promising defenseman showing he can meet potential
REGARDING the Rangers, who, believe it or not, hold the East’s second wildcard spot as figured by percentages — ahead of the Maple Leafs! — as they await the Golden Knights’ arrival Monday night.
We have been through this several times before, where Brady Skjei appears to be back on the track he established for himself during his rookie 2015-16 season. But No. 76’s reemergence since being reunited with a similarly evolving Jacob Trouba is one of the most encouraging signposts the Rangers have constructed through this phase of their development.
Skjei, one of the truly nice people in this game, seems more composed and less hurried, yet much quicker and more decisive at both ends of the ice. The prevailing wisdom is Skjei has put too much pressure on himself — perhaps partially to justify management’s decision to reward him with a six-year, $31.5 million ($5.25 million AAV) contract before the start of last season, perhaps partially to attempt to fill the hole created by Ryan McDonagh’s trade to Tampa Bay — and that has been his biggest hurdle to clear.
The Rangers have placed a great deal of faith in Skjei, just as they have in Trouba, who has yo-yoed through the early part of the season. That is likely understandable given his move here after spending the first six years of his career playing for one team (Winnipeg), a different system and one coach (Paul Maurice) since the middle of his 19-year-old rookie season in 2013-14. But the defenseman has played with heart since pulling on the Blueshirt and has an endearing and unpredictable edge.
David Quinn protested a bit too much about how it had somehow been off base to project close friends Skjei and Trouba as the top pair when he broke it up after just one game. It took 20 games for the coach to reunite the tandem.
There might be nights when Quinn turns to the Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox pair, but the impressive rookies are generally more suited to a second matchup if Skjei and Trouba play the way they have through this 4-0-1 stretch.
2. The configuration on Saturday that will presumably carry over into Monday’s game may, to some extent, lengthen the lineup, but it also dilutes it. I’d be surprised if Kreider and Chytil remain on the third line very long. You could create a top six of Kreider-Mika ZibanejadPavel Buchnevich and Artemi Panarin-Chytil-Kaapo Kakko with the third unit consisting of either Brendan Lemieux-Brett Howden-Ryan Strome or Lemieux-Strome-Jesper Fast with Howden as the fourth-line center.
But would Howden get enough even-strength ice-time — the 15 minutes of shorthanded work Saturday in New Jersey clouded the approach against the Devils — as the fourth-line center for a coach who has been a steadfast threeline guy with a propensity for shortening the bench since taking the job?
3. I’m surprised the Rangers stayed with their four right-handed shooting first power-play unit (Panarin, Zibanejad, Strome, Adam Fox or Tony DeAngelo with the lefty-shooting Kreider) while Kakko remained with the second group.
The Blueshirts still, and critically, must work out whether Panarin or Zibanejad owns that prime piece of left-circle real estate where each has thrived with lethal one-timers. Before Zibanejad was injured on Oct. 27, the Blueshirts had No. 93 in the bumper position in the middle while Panarin manned up in the left circle. That is where Panarin operated while Zibanejad was sidelined for 13 games.
But since Zibanejad returned three games ago, he has primarily lined up in the left circle while Panarin has been on the right. The right circle, by the way, is where the left-handed Kakko is always primed for a one-timer while establishing chemistry with Panarin, as well.
So the assistant coach in charge of the power play, David Oliver, who has some good choices here that spill into the second unit, has work to do. As do the personnel.
4. The Rangers’ penchant for taking penalties, many of the careless variety, is surely going to cost them unless they can practice some of the discipline the coaching staff preaches.
Indeed, the Blueshirts have been shorthanded an average of four times a game, the most of any team in the NHL with Ottawa next at 3.6 per game. Perhaps it is all that practice that contributed to their 15 minutes of perfection on Saturday that included the team’s fifth and league-leading sixth shorthanded goals of the year.
Strome leads the team in taking 10 minor penalties, which places him in a tie for 12th among NHL forwards, Chicago’s Andrew Shaw having taken 14. Skjei has taken eight while Trouba has taken seven.