HIS WAY: Former Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, who is close to being announced as the next Rangers coach, will bring changes to the team’s approach from the ways of former coach John Tortorella.
Understand this: The Rangers aren’t going to be transformed into the run-and-gun Oilers of the 1980’s on Alain Vigneault’s watch.
Still, there will be differences in substance as well as style when Vigneault replaces John Tortorella behind the bench, and they will probably be most notable in the defensive zone.
The Rangers under Vigneault — who still has not been officially named as the franchise’s 34th head coach, though TVA Sports has reported he has agreed to a five-year, $10 million contract — won’t be a shot-blocking-obsessed group in their own end. They won’t automatically fall back in the middle of the ice, packing the front and leaving the points semi-unguarded.
Defensemen won’t be instructed to leave their feet first and think later. They won’t be told to leave the front of the net to chase below the goal line to throw hits at every opportunity, the way Dan Girardi went after Stephen Gionta on Ryan Carter’s killer late third-period game-winner in Game 5 of last year’s conference finals.
The Canucks did become more of a defense-oriented team this season by necessity, but finished 27th, 27th and 25th, respectively, over the last three seasons in blocked shots. The Rangers, by contrast, ranked sixth, fourth and fourth.
In comparison, the finalist Blackhawks and Bruins were 21st and 22nd in that category this season, the 2012 Cup champion Kings ranked 29th and the 2011-winning Bruins (who beat the Canucks in seven when Roberto Luongo imploded in all three games in Boston) ranked 15th.
Again, while the Rangers’ forwards won’t simply abandon their posts and wheel out of their end, a more balanced defensive zone structure should aid the club on the breakout — a particular issue this season and in the five-game second-round defeat to the Bruins — while specifically benefitting the skill set of Michael Del Zotto, who has been limited in his opportunities to deliver the home run feed.
It should also save wear-and-tear on Girardi, whose first-pass ability took a beating with his body. You probably won’t see Girardi going down in front of a P.K. Subban slap shot killing a five-on-three power play with 1:25 to go in the third while losing 3-0, as he did on Feb. 23 in Montreal. At least, let’s hope sanity reigns this time around.
A more traditional — but not loose — defensive zone structure should give wingers more time and space through the neutral zone and on the entry. It should play to the strengths of Chris Kreider, a great skater with a big-time shot who is far better getting the puck on the wing in open ice than hunting for it along the boards and below the goal line.
There has been no definitive decision regarding the fate of Brad Richards, but Vigneault’s system would free him from much of the low defensive-zone traffic in which he had been enmeshed through his first two years as a Ranger and afford him (alternate meaning) more opportunity to get into and operate in open ice.
Changes in their defensive structure should allow the Rangers to possess the puck more often. In their two Presidents’ Trophy-winning seasons, the Canucks ranked fifth and seventh in five-on-five Corsi rankings per 60 minutes (percentage of attempted shots vs. attempted shots against) and the Rangers were 26th in that category when they finished second overall to Vancouver by one point in 2010-11.
The skill guys should benefit under Vigneault. The wear-and-tear guys shouldn’t be as worn-and-torn. The Rangers will still want to own the ground game — the Blackhawks have the most speed in the league, but their game is built on puck pressure — but the Rangers should present a more diversified approach this time around.
It should all be fine … as long as Henrik Lundqvist stops the puck.
* An update on the status of Ulf Samuelsson, who is a candidate for a position on Vigneault’s staff: The former Rangers defenseman has left his job as head coach of Modo (SEL), has moved to the Phoenix area, and is seeking a job in the NHL.