Imagine if Shesterkin were with the Colorado Avalanche, or any other team that has a competent group in front of them. There was nothing he could do last night, or most nights where the offense could barely score two goals. Carolina is predictable, with goals coming from moving the puck from low to high and then crashing the net for rebounds and deflections. If it is well defended, they will not score. That wasn’t the case last night, as the Rangers simply couldn’t prevent the Canes from getting those second, third and fourth looks.
The only other positive from last night was Vlad Gavrikov. So far, he has been worth his contract in New York. Gavrikov opened the scoring with his first power play goal of the season, marking a new career high in goals in just 41 games. The offense is a nice icing on the cake, but the real reason Gavrikov was signed was for his defense. I can’t remember the last Rangers defenseman who had as good a defensive stick as Gavrikov. He makes a lot of smart plays with the puck and also anticipates plays without the puck. So far he has been a great asset.
This is a time where we can question the use of prospects in games, especially with Gabe Perreault. Perreault is getting top-six time at 5v5, but that amounts to just 14 minutes per game with no power play time and no 3v3 time. There is no reason to continue the same power play that is terrible and stale. Why don’t we see what this boy has?
If Mike Sullivan wants to churn out more busts than booms, then by all means, keep Perreault pinned to the bench as your $45 million dollar top six clashes against real contenders. There isn’t a single skater on the team right now who has rightfully earned carte blanche with this coaching staff in this year’s edition of the Rangers.
Play against the young guys, find out what you have in this organization, let them make mistakes because it’s folly to think that playoffs are an actual goal for this season.
#Rangers #Summary #Pursued #storm