The New York Rangers finally got the monkey off their back when they won their first game at Madison Square Garden Monday night against the Nashville Predators. After going 0-6-1 in their first seven home games and only scoring six total goals in those games, they scored six against the Predators to help secure the win. A big reason for this win was that, for the first time this season, the Rangers had a completely balanced lineup. This is going to be a key factor to their drive to make it back to the playoffs.
The Return of Vincent Trocheck
Vincent Trocheck played only one and a half games before going down with an upper-body injury. He missed the next 14 games, and his absence was felt in a big way during that stretch. Instead of playing Mika Zibanejad on the wing as was the plan to start the season, head coach Mike Sullivan had to move him back to center to help balance out the lineup. This also meant other players, such as Connor Sheary and Taylor Raddysh, had to play higher in the lineup than they are used to playing. This is not a recipe for success and a major reason why the Rangers have struggled to score goals this season, as they rank 28th in the NHL with 41.
Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
With Trocheck’s return, Sullivan was able to place him back at center on his familiar line with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. This line combined for eight points in the win over Nashville, with Trocheck notching two assists. He is also a key player on both the power play and penalty kill, so getting him back should only help improve both of those areas. Sometimes, you don’t realize how important a player is to a team until he’s not playing every game, and this stretch of games proved how important Trocheck is to the Rangers’ success.
Gabe Perreault Recalled From Hartford
In addition to getting Trocheck back into the lineup, the Rangers made another move to help balance out their lineup and correct the scoring problem the team is facing. They called up Gabe Perreault from the American Hockey League (AHL). He was playing extremely well for the Hartford Wolf Pack, with five goals and 10 points in nine games. Perreault earned this call-up and was immediately placed on the top line with Zibanejad and J.T. Miller.
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He was one of the more noticeable players in the game, hitting a post in the first period that robbed him of getting his first NHL goal. He followed it up in the second period with a beautiful pass to Lafreniere, who scored on the power play to give Perreault his first NHL point. The Rangers have high hopes for Perreault, and if he can use this opportunity to help show why he should stick in the NHL for the rest of the season, that will only help him and the Rangers — his success means team success.
Other Players Can Now Play in More Comfortable Roles
With Trocheck and Perreault filling out the rest of the top-six forward group, the players on the bottom six are playing exactly where they should be. Having to rely on players like Sheary and Raddysh to play top-six roles is not going to help the Rangers get to where they want to be. They are best suited to play on the bottom six, and with the team now having a more balanced roster, that is exactly where they are playing. Even a player like Will Cuylle, who can play top-six minutes, is now on the third line and will get better matchups going forward.
Will Cuylle of the New York Rangers celebrates after scoring a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period in Game Four of the Second Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Even with Matt Rempe out for the long term, the Rangers have other players who can step into the bottom six if needed to, such as current healthy scratches Juuso Parssinen and Johnny Brodzinski. The Rangers have the depth a team needs to be a Stanley Cup contender; it all depends on whether the team can find out how to score more goals and if the players on the top six can remain healthy.
The Rangers, despite having a terrible home record, are still in a decent spot thanks to their 7-1-1 road record. They are tied in points with both teams in the wild-card spots at 18, and they are only five points back of being first in the Metropolitan. Now that they have a more balanced roster, it’s time to see if this was the spark they needed to get back on track and make it back to the playoffs.
