Over the past four seasons starting in 2020-21, only four of the NHL's defense pairings have been on the ice for at least 3,600 minutes at 5-on-5, two of them with the Rangers, who are the subject of a stability study. I am doing it. In the backend.
Since K'Andre Miller left Wisconsin and turned pro under then-head coach David Quinn for the 2020-21 season, the top four have been clean other than dealing with injuries. Miller has been skating on the left with Jacob Trouba, and Adam Fox has been skating on the right with Ryan Lindgren. These correspond to the 1A/1B competitive pair.
Over the past four seasons, the Miller-Truba tandem has clocked 3,914:19, while Lindgren and Fox have clocked 3,603:10. According to Natural Stat Trick, Carolina's pairing of Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce led the league in 5-on-5 minutes over the past four seasons with 3,976 minutes, 13 seconds, ahead of the Kings' Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson. The tandem took third place with a time of 3,865 minutes and 35 seconds.
But that's partly due to Lindgren's preseason upper-body injury in the second game when he was on IR wearing No. 55, and partly because head coach Peter Laviolette wanted to see a different look. Yes, the Blueshirts employed three essentially new combinations in six games. In Wednesday's opening game, they lost -0 to Pittsburgh.
The first pairing saw Miller fielding Fox on the left flank, uniting two of the club's most mobile and attacking defensemen. This style has been talked about for several years, and before Wednesday, the young defenseman had played 337:34 at 5-on-5 over the past four seasons.
But, almost unbelievably, Wednesday was just the sixth game in which No. 79 and No. 23 have started as a pair, marking two games since the last four of the 56-game 2020-21 season. It was game number. There was never one in 2021-22, and there was never one last year. The last time Miller and Fox combined was Game 13 of the 2022-23 season against Detroit at the Garden on Nov. 6, when Lindgren was sidelined.
In Pittsburgh's second set, Trouba was on the right side, but right-hander Braden Schneider was moved offside for the first time in his 207 NHL career, which began midway through the 2021-22 season. It's clear that the head coach wanted the top four defensemen to form the top four, but was this move based on the right-handed rookie or the performance of the right-handed rookie? — Victor Mancini was also a key factor in this decision.
The 21-year-old entered rookie camp last season after leaving Nebraska-Omaha with a total of 17 professional hockey games on his resume, including seven regular season and 10 playoff games. He left an immediate and lasting impression. He and Zach Jones formed the third pairing in the opener, and Mancini earned the Broadway hat in his naughty and effective NHL debut with 17 minutes, 27 seconds of work.
In fact, the reworked defense limited the Penguins to a precious few scoring opportunities following an opening 10 minutes in which Igor Shesterkin made several key saves. For that reason, the Blueshirts stuck to the same layout for Saturday's home opener against the Utah Yotes, former Arizona Coyotes, former Phoenix Coyotes, and former Winnipeg Jets.
“We're looking at certain players and trying to figure out an answer for that and for Ryan being out for a period of time,” Laviolette said after Friday's practice. “I thought we played pretty well. After the game, I said, Shesty probably had to make about six big saves in the first 12 to 13 minutes, but after that, defensively, we played pretty well. He said he thought he did a pretty good job of finishing it off.
“I thought the pair got better as the game progressed, and I thought the forwards were able to read the defensemen, so [new pairs] That didn't seem to be a factor. ”
Lindgren continues to skate with the team despite wearing a non-contact jersey and full visor. If No. 55 is allowed to play before the coaching staff decides on the lineup, the class will face a roster decision. The Blueshirts will play the Red Wings at home on Monday before a three-game series against Detroit, Toronto and Montreal.
The club currently has seven defensemen with Chad Ruhwedel in reserve. Re-acquired from the Penguins on a one-year, $775,000 deal during the deadline, Ruwedel appeared in five games with the Blueshirts. He will request that a waiver request be sent to AHL Hartford. That seems like minimal risk.
Mancini doesn't need Weber. If the well-built 6-foot-3, 215-pounder were to experience hiccups during a sprint, he could theoretically return to the Wolfpack and command major-league time there.
However, if Mancini continues to do well and the defense remains healthy, the Blueshirts could waive Ruwedel. And if Schneider is comfortable and effective offside, Lindgren could slide into Mancini's left on the third pair and bump Zach Jones into the stands.
This could be the beginning of something new.
