McDonagh a Stanley Cup playoff mainstay
TAMPA — Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh doesn’t get the same kind of attention as his more offensively minded counterparts.
He didn’t put up a 20-goal, 85-point season like Victor Hedman, who had a career-best 4-point outing in Wednesday’s playoff victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. And McDonagh’s name likely won’t come up in the Norris Trophy conversation alongside the Nashville Predators’ Roman Josi and Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar.
But what McDonagh does do, year after year, is find his way into the Stanley Cup playoffs, where he always makes an impact. During the past 12 seasons, he has become synonymous with the NHL postseason.
The veteran blueliner, 32, spent his first seven seasons with the Rangers before he was traded to the Lightning in 2017-18. Of his 12 playoff appearances, only three have resulted in first-round exits, while three others ended in the Cup final, including backto-back championships the past two seasons.
He doesn’t take such opportunities for granted.
“I’m very fortunate to be able to play in the playoffs every year,” McDonagh said. “I’ve been around enough players that have missed the playoffs at times ... you know it’s not a great feeling.”
As the Lightning chase a third straight championship, McDonagh continues to play an integral role. He skates in the second defense pair (typically with Erik Cernak, but more recently with Cal Foote or Zach Bogosian) and plays critical minutes on the top penalty-kill unit.
The Lightning don’t worry about McDonagh, even after a turnover in the corner Wednesday led to Michael Bunting’s goal that cut Toronto’s deficit to 2-1 eight minutes into the second period.
McDonagh, one of the Lightning’s alternate captains and a former N.Y. Rangers captain, has been a key part of the leadership group that has guided Tampa Bay to a conference final and two titles in the past four seasons.
He knows what it takes to win and how costly mistakes can add up, which is why he doesn’t make them a habit. He is composed at all times on the ice, never getting too high or too low.
“You don’t want to play 82 games, give everything you can to not have a chance at going after the Stanley Cup,” he said.
Dan Girardi, who played with McDonagh for nine seasons between New York and Tampa Bay, said he saw signs that McDonagh could become
one of the great defensemen in the league, even as a young player.
“He does everything really well, and his details are great about the game, which translates to him being successful in the playoffs, getting his team to playoffs every year, making long runs,” Girardi said. “It’s no secret why the team’s he’s on are successful in the playoffs.”
Since his NHL debut in 2010-11, McDonagh has played in a leaguehigh 162 playoff games, averaging 24:42 per game while recording 59 points, including 48 assists. Last year, he received three votes for the Conn
Smythe Trophy, which goes to the postseason MVP.
In the first two games of the current series against the Maple Leafs, McDonagh has 7 blocked shots, 5 hits, 2 shot attempts and 1 shot on goal, while averaging 20:44. He has a plus-minus rating of minus-3, but a 5-0 loss in Game 1 didn’t help anyone on the Lightning.
“He’s an absolute stabilizer,” assistant coach Derek Lalonde said. “We are calm when he’s in there, whether
it’s just poise on breakouts, whether it’s his defensive game, his efficiency with his game.
“It always hurts when players are out, but when he’s out, we really feel it. … His game is so poised and calm, he stabilizes all five guys when he’s out there.”