Final Thoughts on the 2020 NYR Season

So, including the exhibition game vs the Islanders, the Rangers lost 4 straight games in the Eastern Conference bubble. Talk about rust. The Rangers had the perfect match-up with the Hurricanes (or so they thought). Historically, the Rangers dominate Carolina. It’s just one of those teams that the Rangers seem to beat often. But not this time. The Hurricanes didn’t just beat the Rangers; they embarrassed them. Top to bottom. Defense, offense, goaltending, physicality, goal-scoring, you name it, the Canes brutalized the Rangers in 3 games. That was tough to watch, but hey, at least it was over quick.

What Happened?

I wanted to really think about this series before I wrote about it, so I gave it a few days. Now reflecting back on it, I think I can dissect the 3 short games objectively.

First off, the Rangers are a young and inexperienced team. I don’t love this argument, but it is a point I think is worth mentioning. According to Bluelinestation.com, the Rangers are the second youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 26.3. It’s even lower if you don’t include Marc Staal at 23.5. The inexperience was very apparent in this series. It’s easy to forget that Carolina was a conference finalist last season. A lot of those guys have been around the playoff block before, and they knew exactly how to prepare. They also came into this series knowing that they haven’t beaten the NYR all season long, going 0-4. They had a chip on their shoulder. They had a lot to prove. The Rangers weren’t ready for what the Canes were bringing in terms of experience. It’s tough to say that anyone really knew how to prepare for such a strange series of games/events, but whatever the Hurricanes did, it worked. The Hurricanes are a good team and I think they should start to get the recognition they deserve. They’ll definitely get it from the Rangers next season. I don’t wish them well moving forward though because the earlier they get eliminated from the playoffs, the higher their 1st overall pick gets. The Rangers are the proud owner of that pick thanks to Brady Skjei.

Second, the Rangers did not get the goaltending and Carolina did. Before I go any further, I want to mention that this is not all Henrik Lundqvist’s fault. He got little to no support whatsoever. The Rangers only scored 4 goals in the 3 games, and they went 0-7 on the PP in game 1 (I’ll get into that later). There were times where he played okay during this series and made saves that he probably shouldn’t have. Furthermore, he has done arguably more for the NYR in the last 15 years than anyone else has ever done. He is the King. However…. Giving up the first shot in game 1 was tough. He bounced back. Giving up a soft goal in game 2 at the start of the game was inexcusable. Then giving up a slap shot to the same guy 3 seconds into a power play early in the 2nd period of game 2 was insurmountable. He had the mojo in game 1 and the Rangers could have and should have built off of. Lundqvist gave them that chance in game 1. He was not even close in game 2. Even though they lost game 1, game 2 brought promise and hope. Lundqvist’s terrible performance in game 2 was a dagger. Not even Shestyerkin could save them in game 3. It was too late by then. By comparison Petr Mrazrek made the saves that Carolina NEEDED. Lundqvist did not. Again, he had little support throughout the series, but there were key goals that he gave up that no NHL goalie should feel good about.

Third, there were several absent players on the Ranger’s roster. For starters, losing Jesper Fast was huge. He was playing alongside Panarin for most of the season and guess who had an awful series: The Bread Man. Maybe Fast didn’t get the credit he deserved all season long. Missing him as his winger was a bigger loss than most realize. Obviously Fast didn’t choose to get crushed by Brady Skjei in the first minute of game 1, so this isn’t his fault by any stretch. The point is that his presence was missed. Next was Brendan Lemiuex’s absence. It was a suspension from March that was felt in August. John Davidson said that the Rangers were lacking “grit” in this series. Well, Lemiuex has and brings that almost every night, along with some decent skill. However, this was his own fault. I actually agree with the NHL in his suspension back from March. His late hit on the Avalanche player was totally uncalled for and completely irresponsible. Guess who paid the price of his mistake? His teammates. The Rangers could’ve used his agitating powers, but instead he was in the press box (or wherever the scratched players go in the bubble). Unlike Fast, a lot of this mess falls directly onto Lemiuex’s shoulders. He should know better.

Lastly, the power play. My goodness, this PP was bad. For a team that had the 7th overall PP in the regular season, they looked lost. Zibanejad couldn’t hit the net or win a faceoff. Panarin got bodied off the puck every single time he touched it. DeAngelo couldn’t connect on a pass (both of them get the exception on the 5-on-3 goal). In the playoffs, you need your special teams to come through. The PP failed. It was very reminiscent of the old NYR PP’s where they couldn’t score to save their lives. It was a huge reason why the Rangers were lightyears away from winning this series. The PP was 1 for 14. The one was a 5-on-3. Not good enough for the playoffs.

This man deserved better.

What Next?

12.5%! That number isn’t looking too bad right about now. The shortest playoff run of all time is over and now we can look to the future. Even if the Rangers don’t get the #1 overall pick, they still have a lot of talent on the way. K’Andre Miller is coming next season. The US defender is no joke, and the Rangers need some serious depth on the blue line. Nils Lunkdvist is another future Rangers D-man, although he won’t arrive until 21-2022. Morgan Barron is another prospect to look forward to. The 2017 6th round pick had a great junior season at Cornell. Since the NCAA is facing uncertainty about whether or not they’ll be having hockey this season, Barron has decided to sign an entry-level deal with NYR. Also, Vitaly Kravstov is still hopeful to become a solid NHLer. There are plenty of names to look forward to that are apart of the organization now. As for free agency, Staal, Smith, and Lundqvist’s contracts will be finished up at the end of next season. Whether or not any of them will be bought out this offseason is still a mystery, but when they are gone, that opens up about $18.5 million in cap space. We all know that the Rangers have the ability to bring in the big names in free agency. Who are some upcoming UFA’s in 2021-22? As of right now, a few notable names are Ryan Getzlaf, Dougie Hamilton, Gabe Landeskog, Nick Foligno, and a pretty decent goal-scorer by the name of Alex Ovechkin.

Final Thoughts

2020 has been tough on everyone. This has been the strangest calendar year for just about anyone on planet Earth. Now that the NYR season is officially over, I can honestly say I think it was a good one. We had a Hart Trophy finalist, a 5-goal game by DJ Z-Bad, a solid replacement for Henrik Lundqvist has emerged, and a shot at the #1 overall pick. Yeah, it didn’t end the way we all hoped, but realistically, the Rangers probably wouldn’t have made the playoffs anyway. They really shit the bed in the last 3 games, but things could be much worse for the Blueshirts. Imagine being the Red Wings… They finished the season with 49 losses and 39 points, and they didn’t even get a top 3 draft choice. The next closest team? The Ottawa Senators with 34 losses and 62 points. Ouch.

Written by Andrew Silvers

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