The New York Rangers were one of the few teams to make a big splash at the deadline as they acquired Eric Staal from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a good prospect (Aleksi Saarela) and a pair of 2nd round picks.
While many hold the Rangers in high regard and expect them to be serious contenders in the Eastern Conference – especially with a 1-2-3 punch of Derek Stepan, Derrick Brassard and Staal down the middle – they certainly haven’t looked the part of a contender.
The Rangers’ underlying numbers have been underwhelming all season long but they’ve been particularly putrid of late as they’ve routinely been dominated.
Since the trade deadline the Rangers have controlled just 44.1% of the shot attempts and 44% of the scoring chances.
The Rangers rank at or near the bottom of the league in both categories, which is certainly not ideal for a ‘contender’ heading into the playoffs.
If they don’t get their act together – and fast – they’re going to be a quick out unless Henrik Lundqvist plays lights out and single-handedly steals them a series.
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To make the playoffs you need to have a quality roster.
To have success in the playoffs you need to stay healthy (and have a little luck along the way).
The playoffs haven’t started yet, obviously, but the Lightning are off to a rocky start in that regard as defenseman Anton Stralman fractured his leg and will be out for an extended period of time.
While Stralman isn’t a name commonly brought up when talking about high-end defensemen, Stralman is, by all accounts, a top pairing blue liner and someone the Lightning certainly can’t afford to lose.
Despite playing stiff competition on a nightly basis the Lightning have fared significantly better with Stralman on the ice as opposed to on the bench.
As you’ll notice the Lightning are (barely) above 50% in all three categories without Stralman. They’re still a good team but they’ve essentially treaded water without him while they’ve been utterly dominant with Stralman on the ice.
To me the Lightning were up there with Washington and Pittsburgh as the best teams in the East. Without Stralman I’m not sure that’s the case.
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As it stands the Detroit Red Wings are on the outside of the playoffs looking in and are in danger of not qualifying for the first time in over 20 years.
The Red Wings are going through a bit of a transition period and are not as good as they have been in recent years. The one thing that kept them afloat for most of the season is now the thing that is killing them: goaltending.
Petr Mrazek was one of the best goaltenders in the league for much of the year, but he has faltered of late. Jimmy Howard hasn’t been able to stop the bleeding, either.
From the start of the season to February 1st the Red Wings were the beneficiaries of fantastic goaltending. In that 49 span Mrazek and Howard combined to stop .938% of the shots they faced at 5 v 5, which put them .001 behind Philadelphia for tops in the league.
In 26 games since Red Wings’ goaltenders have stopped .907% of the shots they’ve faced at full-strength. They are 26th in the NHL in that span and rank behind the likes of the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens; two teams that have been sunk by goaltending.
If Mrazek and/or Howard don’t right the ship soon the Red Wings will be a quick out come playoff time, if they even make it.
Written by Todd Cordell, who can be found on twitter @ToddCordell.
