Buchnevich could be playing
SO the Rangers wouldn’t take both of Mika Zibanejad’s wingers away from him at the deadline, would they?
For while we know Chris Kreider, who recorded his 11th goal in the past 17 games in Friday’s 4-2 Garden victory over the horrid Red Wings, is an endangered species, the same could be true of Pavel Buchnevich, who scored the match’s opening goal.
It is not as if the Russian winger poses a cap problem, working as he is on the first half of a two-year deal worth $3.25 million per. It is not as if Buchnevich would yield the kind of bounty in return that management might be able to elicit in return for Kreider.
It is that the Rangers might want to engineer a horses-for-courses kind of trade, exchanging Buchnevich’s skill game for a winger with a more north-south, hard-hat mentality. Then again, with the talent like No. 89 possesses at an affordable price, that might be one for general manager Jeff Gorton to keep in his pocket.
“In my eyes, he’s still a young player in this league,” Zibanejad told The Post in speaking of the 24-yearold who is in his third full NHL season. “He’s figuring it out and figuring himself out. He’s getting it more and more and is improving all the time.
“I think he has all the upside in the world.”
Buchnevich scored the 1-0 goal at 9:23 of the second period by driving to the left post and deflecting home Zibanejad’s gorgeous feed from the right circle. It was as north-south a play as it gets, the rush begun by a snappy headman feed from Kreider to the centerman, except for the fact that it was actually a west-east play from the Eighth Avenue end of the building to Seventh.
But this is not a lesson in cartography.
“I thought Boochie did a really good job beating his man up the ice,” said David Quinn, who has resisted the temptation of flipping Buchnevich with third-line right wing Kaapo Kakko. “I think Boochie had a really good night. He’s a good player and we believe in him.
“He’s been battling the flu for a while, I know people don’t want to
hear that, but that’s the reality of the situation. He’s a 20-goal scorer in this league and he’s got a little bit of chemistry with Mika. He’s earned this opportunity.”
Buchnevich recorded 21 goals last season, but he is neither a natural nor instinctive goal scorer. And everyone has seen the frustration written all over his face and the negative body language that flows after No. 89 misses a prime opportunity. Sometimes he brings it to the bench with him. It looks for all the world as if he’s pouting.
“It’s that he cares so much,” Zibanejad said. “He obviously wouldn’t show those kinds of emotions if he didn’t care. He’s very hard on himself, and I think that’s a good thing. He’s trying all the time to contribute and become a better player.
“He’s still a young player with so much skill. The way he can handle and pass the puck, the way he holds onto it. He’s more of a pass-first player. He and I know each other very well.”
The Blueshirts had their way with Detroit, one of the worst teams of the cap era. Last overall at 12-36-4, the Red Wings are well on their way to joining the 2016-17 Avalanche that finished 22-56-4 as the only two teams of the era to finish last overall in the standings and in both goals scored and allowed. It takes a special absence of ability to achieve that dubious milestone.
But though dominant through the first 29 minutes, the Rangers could not beat Jimmy Howard, who has the rather astonishing record of 2-20-2. But that’s when the Kreider-Zibanejad-Buchnevich conga line took charge. Once the Blueshirts took the lead, the Red Wings were little more than fried octopi.
“It would be easy to get frustrated, but I thought we did a good job of staying with it,” said Zibanejad, who scored his 19th goal and added a pair of helpers. “I thought we did a good job controlling the game.”
Buchnevich finished with three shots on goal. The winger who entered the season with a 13.9 shooting percentage left Friday’s match at 9.6 percent. He’s been getting chances, but hasn’t been finishing. Whether that’s simply a matter of bad luck is left to Gorton and management to divine.
“The way he holds himself, the way he deals with situations, he’s taking big steps forward,” Zibanejad said. “He has such a strong work ethic. He wants to help the team. “He’s getting better and better.” As Feb. 24 draws nearer on the calendar.