Five forwards on a power play is not something one sees often in NHL games. In fact, Rangers coach Mike Sullivan couldn’t recall whether he’s ever used that alignment before in his 12-plus years as an NHL head coach.
But the loss of No. 1 defenseman and power-play point man Adam Fox until Christmas, at least, with an upper-body injury, has put the Rangers in a difficult situation. Sullivan said it would be a “by committee’’ effort to replace all the things Fox does for the Rangers. So while Braden Schneider got the call to step into the Jericho native’s spot on the top defense pair next to Vladislav Gavrikov, when it came to piloting the power play, Sullivan opted for a five-forward look, with Artemi Panarin at the point, rather than trying Schneider, rookie Scott Morrow or Gavrikov in that role.
“We’re trying to put a power play together that we think gives us the best opportunity to have success,’’ Sullivan explained. “Obviously Foxy, I think, is an elite power-play defenseman, with how he distributes the puck up there, [and] the way he sees the game. He’s got really good instincts.’’
Panarin, who entered Tuesday’s game at Madison Square Garden against the Dallas Stars as the Rangers’ co-leading scorer with Fox, has similar attributes. A slick, clever playmaker, he seemed the most natural replacement, Sullivan said.
“I think so,’’ Sullivan said. “The two obvious guys would be him and Mika [Zibanejad], probably. Mika can really shoot it. I think ‘Bread’ [Panarin] sees it really well. He also was really good at getting pucks through [the crowd of bodies in front of the net]. His ability to get pucks down to the net, into the areas of the rink where we want to get them, I think is a particular attribute that Bread has.’’
Panarin said he has never been a full-time point man on the power play, but he has taken turns in the spot in the Rangers’ system that has players exchanging positions from time to time.
“When we switch, with Foxy, I’m there a few times in the game,’’ he said. “So it’s kind of, not really new for me, because we switch with him a lot. But now . . . I’ve got to stay there.’’
But, he said, he likes it being at the point.
“Why? I think I have more options, more [time] playing with the puck, which I like.’’
Of course, the inherent reason coaches don’t often use five forwards on the power play is that there is a threat that if the puck is cleared out of the zone, or if the point man fumbles it away at the blue line, there isn’t a defenseman on the ice to skate back and defend. Sullivan acknowledged the risk.
“Do you want me to state the obvious and say, yes?’’ he said. “I mean, I think you know the answer to that. We’re going to see how it plays out.’’
Panarin, for his part, isn’t thinking about what could go wrong.
“Why would I worry about that?’’ he said with a laugh.
“Yeah, I mean, I’ll try, obviously, to be real safe, play a little safer up top,’’ he said. “But I also can’t be too conservative, because it’s probably not working like that. The NHL is not an easy league. You’ve got to take a risk every time.’’
The options if Panarin doesn’t work out at the point don’t seem great. Gavrikov had four goals entering Tuesday, which was tops among Rangers defensemen. But he is a defense-first defenseman who doesn’t have a single point on the power play in seven-plus seasons.
Schneider has served as the point man on the second power-play unit for most of the season, but he’d never played the power play before this season, and doesn’t have a power-play point this year. Morrow is a natural point man, who has performed at lower levels (28 goals and 94 points in 109 college games over three years at UMass, and 13 goals and 39 points in 52 games in the AHL last season) but before Tuesday, he’d played just 20 NHL games.
Notes & quotes: Fourth-line forward Adam Edstrom sat out with a lower-body injury sustained in practice Monday. He is considered day-to-day . . . F Taylor Raddysh, who missed Monday’s practice for personal reasons, played . . . F Conor Sheary returned to the lineup to replace Edstrom . . . Goalie Jonathan Quick (on IR, lower-body injury) practiced at the optional morning skate, but Spencer Martin served as backup to Igor Shesterkin . . . Matt Rempe was spotted walking around at the skate. Sullivan said he’s getting closer to returning, though he’s not close enough to warrant discussing. He is skating, though. “Everybody’s really encouraged with the progress that he’s making,’’ Sullivan said.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.