More than 10 months after the Devils celebrated the end of the Blueshirts on the other side of the Hudson River, the Rangers could drive the nail even deeper in New Jersey on Monday.
1. On Saturday, Braden Schneider, who was promoted to the top four on Quandre Miller’s right side in Jacob Trouba’s absence, responded again. It was a recurring theme for the 22-year-old defenseman, who set the physical tone for the Blueshirts by slamming Pavel Buchnevich into the boards in front of the St. Louis bench 45 seconds into the game.
For some reason, he only gets credit for that one hit, but the third-year pro showed a solid presence in his 16 minutes, 46 seconds of ice time, while also pairing Miller (249 of his 276 NHL career games) with Trouba. ) were aggressive on both ends of the match. ice.
Trouba is expected to be out of action for two to three weeks. This represents a significant loss for a team that holds a four-point division lead over Carolina heading into Tuesday’s matchup with the Canes in Raleigh, N.C., and the Lightning have their next game two nights later in Tampa, Fla. There is.
However, this is an opportunity for Schneider to grow in confidence and earn a bigger role in the playoffs from head coach Peter Laviolette. The more the better.
The third pair with Erik Gustafsson is a little too guarded, but number four is the big boy this week, Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier on Monday, a ton of Sebastian Aho on Tuesday, and a heap of Braden on Tuesday. – Will get points and Nikita Kucherov. Thursday, and probably quite a bit of Sidney Crosby when the trip ends in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
There’s no better preparation for the playoffs.
2. Multiple actors have filled the right-wing position in recent years, including Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, like Don and Betty Draper’s son Bobby.
In fact, Jack Roslovic, acquired on loan from Columbus in exchange for a conditional fourth-round draft pick that suggests John Davidson holds no grudge against Chris Drury, She was the 13th player to audition for the role. He lined up next to BFF in Saturday’s 4-0 win.
The 27-year-old former USNDT player, who played alongside Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren at the 2017 World Juniors, brings skill, speed and creativity to the line. In that sense, he’s similar to Frank Vatrano, who was a successful rental in 2022, but No. 96 is more of a playmaker than a shooter.
At 10:34 on Saturday, the line had a combined 17 attempts, but only three went to Jordan Binnington, and seven attempts were blocked. Roslovic had two shots on six attempts, including one that hit the crossbar in the third period.
There was a lot of movement under the hash marks, with the three players attempting area passes, which should become more fruitful as time goes on. They had not yet had their morning skate together when they stepped onto the ice to start the game.
“When you play with two guys like that, you tend to play hard, so don’t try to be flashy or be a hero on the first night,” Roslovic said after the game. “Simply play, learn, and start building chemical reactions.
“Micah is a very creative thinker, so it’s a lot of fun to be a sponge. The Crazes have a lot of ideas, so I listen to what they have to say and follow them up with the pack, and make sure I’m the best too.” It’s good to try to play the game.”
3. You have to give Zach Jones all kinds of credit. He’s 23 years old and obviously wants to play, but the defenseman was a healthy scratch 45 times in his first full NHL season and had missed 12 straight games before the Trouba news. Ta.
However, when called up for the game against St. Louis, Jones primarily paired with Gustafsson and played calmly, defending well while moving the puck in 17:07.
The Blueshirts acquired right-handed defenseman Chad Ruhwedel from the Penguins at the deadline. Coach Laviolette certainly could have added the 33-year-old to the lineup to maintain left-right balance with the left-handed shooting of Jones and Gustafsson.
But that’s not what the post-practice hug is about. There is a sense of loyalty and unity within the group. Perhaps more importantly, Jones has made steady progress throughout the season. While he certainly isn’t the size and strength D the Rangers want to recruit, the No. 6 player has been listed as a playoff depth option.
Four. Ranking of 96th all-time Rangers: 1. Roslovic. 2. Emerson Etem.
