Hartnett: It's Time For Rangers To Give Clendening A Serious Look

By Sean Hartnett
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Poor puck management has become a recurring theme for a Rangers team that wishes to be among the genuine contenders for the Stanley Cup when the playoffs begin in mid-April.

Here we are 50 games into the season and the Rangers still need to clean up their execution coming out of their own end.

Following Tuesday's 6-4 defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets, head coach Alain Vigneault was left frustrated after his team allowed a 1-0 first-intermission deficit to spiral into a 5-0 disadvantage 20 minutes later. Many of the goals were preventable, as the Rangers were careless with the puck.

"We made four mistakes in a row that ended up in the back of our net," Vigneault said. "Three of those were Grade-A opportunities that we have to be better, and that's what we're going to do. There's no doubt, especially in the second period early on, when they made it 2-0 and 3-0 there, that our decision making wasn't good enough. Good teams make you pay. That's a good team that we played against, and that's what they did."

Captain Ryan McDonagh emphasized the need for the Rangers to be smarter with the puck in their end. While the Blueshirts showed a lot of spirit in cutting a 6-0 third period deficit to 6-4, they wouldn't have been in such a bad spot to start the final frame had they stamped out their mistakes earlier.

"We've got to take care of the puck when we have it on our stick and make sure we are 100 percent with it and taking care of our end first," McDonagh said.

The Rangers' seven defensemen -- McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Nick Holden, Brady Skjei, Kevin Klein and Adam Clendening -- have all been bit by the turnover bug at various times throughout the season. At this very moment, there's not much that Vigneault can do besides plug in Clendening at the expense of one of his regulars.

One of Vigneault's strengths is his trust in his players. If they know their coach has their back, they're going to play without fear. Usually, it's a great thing. If players are given chances to atone for their mistakes, they won't be walking on eggshells in fear of a miscue turning into a benching or scratching.

Vigneault's near-unlimited trust in his veterans can sometimes be a double-edged sword, however. Playing rugged winger Tanner Glass over productive forward Kevin Hayes in the final two games of last season's first-round playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins was an example of AV valuing experience over skill and it backfiring. The Rangers certainly could have used Hayes' ability to generate scoring chances over the physicality that Glass provided.

The Rangers' current issue that needs to be resolved is their problematic right side of the blue line. They are without a legitimate top-pairing right-handed defenseman. Though any real upgrade won't come until closer to the March 1 trade deadline, Vigneault can roll the dice by giving Clendening a run of games and hoping the seldom-used 24-year-old provides an offensive spark. Prior to the third period of Tuesday's game, the Rangers had gone five full periods without scoring a goal.

Clendening's chance would likely come at the expense of Klein or Girardi, or Vigneault could opt to keep the pair of veterans fresh by rotating them. Klein has been too turnover-prone to be an automatic in AV's lineup. After missing the opening three games of the season due to back spasms, Klein has only been scratched once.

"I expect him to play better," Vigneault said at the time. "Kevin is a gritty defensive-type defenseman that plays with some jam. He can chip in now and then in the offensive part when the opportunity is there. I just felt that the last little while there wasn't enough, maybe urgency to his game. He has been very good for us, very reliable player in the past and maybe his game just slipped a little for an amount of time."

Klein has shown signs of turning his game around, but he hasn't fully come back to being the reliable presence he once was. On Tuesday, he was on the ice for four goals against and his forced stretch pass led to Columbus' fifth goal. Klein did find his long-awaited first goal of the season by scoring on a one-timer with 1:07 left in regulation.

Girardi, meanwhile, has struggled in possession-based metrics. According to the NHL's official stat-tracking, the 32-year-old ranks 793rd of 800 players, with a minus-158 SAT.

Clendening has skated for 18 games this season, collecting eight points. His 0.44 points per game ranks third among Rangers' defensemen, behind McDonagh and Holden. When broken down over 60 minutes, his 1.66 points is better than any Rangers' blue liner and his 1.45 assists ranks sixth among Rangers skaters. Prior to Tuesday, he played in nine straight games.

The Rangers are the fifth NHL team Clendening has suited up for in three seasons. He said he likes the way he's fitting in.

"Given a home and given a chance, I think my game has started to round into form," Clendening said recently. "You can only go to so many teams and when you find one that works, a staff that likes your style of play and puts you into positions to succeed -- it's definitely nice. You want to prove them right as well. All in all, I think it's gone pretty well."

It appears it's time for Vigneault to give Clendening the chance he deserves.

Follow Sean on Twitter at @HartnettHockey