This post-Hurricanes series wrap is from Vincent Trocheck.
The Blueshirts’ Bedeviler was an absolute pain in the ass for his former Carolina teammate in every way, on the scoreboard, between the whistles, and through his bruising yet skilled play in all situations. was.
There were moments when it looked like the players Trocheck once shared a locker room with wanted to decapitate him. He never shut up. And believe it or not, he was even louder when he put the puck on his stick.
The Rangers capped an epic third-period rally led by Chris Kreider in Game 6 in Raleigh, North Carolina on Thursday night, clinching a spot in the Eastern Conference finals and clinching the Stanley Cup with just two losses. reached half of the
There’s no question, and it shouldn’t be surprising, that goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who made 33 saves in the series-clinching victory, is considered the top candidate for Conn Smythe, but Trocheck has also been talked about. Worth joining.
“I mean, he’s been doing it since day one,” Kreider said after Thursday’s win, with Trocheck sitting next to him in a sleek green and blue plaid suit. “I feel like he’s finally starting to get the attention he deserves. He’s a horse for us. He does everything. I mean, Jordan Staal is no small guy. He’s pretty good at the dot. Probably one of the best things he’s ever done. It’s unbelievable, he digs in every face-off and gives us a chance. He snaps a lot of them cleanly.
“More than that, the way he carries the puck, the way he forechecks, the physicality. He does everything for us.”
It’s hard to tell what kind of impact Trocheck will have in the future, hanging up his Hurricanes jersey and donning the Rangers emblem 44 days after the clubs lost the 2022 series, but this season and We saw that in this playoff game.
In his second season with the Rangers, Trocheck embodied the tough-to-play-again traits the organization has long sought.
He’s a part of the faceoff world, ranking fifth in the NHL playoffs with a 58.3 winning percentage. His puck-handling ability is necessarily on par with linemates like Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere, but he can be surprising at times for a player who plays with so much grunt.
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With just one joke, he can enrage his opponents, throwing them out of the game or giving them reckless penalties. Just twist the knife harder as you skate towards the box and he’ll give you a thumbs up.
Trocheck is simply infuriating.
This is a talent the Rangers haven’t mastered since a guy named Sean Avery walked the halls of Madison Square Garden 11 years ago. This is a characteristic that organizations sought to acquire publicly because it was clear that this was what they needed.
Apparently celebrating Alexis Lafrenière’s go-ahead goal in Game 3, he cheered in the face of Sebastian Aho, who was in the back as he tipped the puck to Panarin in transition for the secondary assist on the play. I did a cross check. . Or the fearlessness he showed in Game 4 when he laughed at 6-foot-5 Brent Burns, who tried to step over the umpire’s shoulders to trocheck everything he said and did at the time.
From leading all skaters with 35 minutes, 21 seconds of ice time and a double-overtime winner in Game 2 to defeating Panarin with an overtime winner in Game 3, Trocheck has played well in this Rangers playoff game so far. He has been active for a long time.
Trocheck not only recorded points in eight of the 10 playoff games, he also had multiple points in six of those games. He is one of only three players, joining Kreider and Michael Nylander, to score at least six goals (eight assists) through 10 postseason games for the Rangers over the last 20 years.
No pendulum, other than maybe Maple Leafs captain John Tavares and Long Island, has swung as much as North Carolina’s sentiment toward Trocheck.
I was actually sitting at Raleigh-Durham International Airport talking about the Trocheck series with my dear colleague Larry Brooks when suddenly…
“Trochek is a weasel,” the young red-haired woman next to me spat in disgust.
“I loved him when he played here. Now he’s just an asshole.”
That is the Vincent Trocheck effect.
Everyone wants that for their team.
And the Rangers kept him for the next five years.
