Monzo Minor: The Resilient Rangers
By Brian Monzo
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There are a lot of adjectives to describe the Rangers at this point in the season. The one that sticks out to me is "resilient." As per usual, most of the media is killing the Rangers. "They don't have enough offense, Sean Avery is a bad guy, they have no defense...etc etc." Some of these arguments have some validity to them, but the fact of the matter is the Rangers find themselves three games over .500 and winning games that old Rangers teams may not have.
Starting in training camp, two of the Rangers best went down in Chris Drury and Vinny Prospal. Drury returned for the home opener, but then re-broke his finger and Marian Gaborik went down with a separated shoulder. Things looked bleak.
Like any good team would, their role players stepped up -- mainly Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Artem Anisimov and Brian Boyle. While Drury and Prospal have not returned yet, Gaborik missed 12 games and has since returned. In the 12 games he missed, the Rangers went 6-6-0. Yes, that is only .500, but while missing one of the most dominant goal scorers in the league, this was a huge step.
Since his return, the Rangers are 3-0 and Gaborik wasted no time showing his value, netting a hat trick in his second game back.
There is a different feel this season. Sure, Ranger fans knew how good Dubinsky and Callahan were. But now the NHL is starting to find out. Dubinsky has netted 10 goals and Callahan is doing everything, every game. Opposing teams aren't focusing JUST on Gaborik. All of a sudden Anisimov is a threat when he is on the ice, scoring 14 points in 18 games.
How about Brian Boyle? In his first 107 career games he scored 12 goals. In 18 games this season, he has 8. Ruslan Fedotenko, the savvy veteran, has quietly scored 10 points in 18 games. The inconsistent Alex Frolov has 10 points, but hasn't gotten anything really going yet.
What killed the Rangers last season was their horrendous stretch in the middle of the season. For the most part, Gaborik was their only offensive threat. The offense is coming from all directions early this season, and if this continues, the success should follow.
Quick thought on the Sean Avery incident with the Oilers and the "sucker punch." Avery always get a bad rap, and most times, for good reason. He will never get the benefit of the doubt and he has earned that. However, in this case, the bigger issue I have is why he is being challenged to fight after throwing a clean hit. I am not justifying his actions, but this notion in the NHL that when someone gets leveled (cleanly) that he has to challenge the guy to a fight. That is the real issue here.
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Related articles
- Monzo Minor: Rangers Becoming A Team (newyork.cbslocal.com)
- Gaborik, Rangers Rout Oilers 8-2 (newyork.cbslocal.com)
