Everything old is new again. Or, in this particular case, Blue again.
That’s because, after an interruption of more than one season, the Rangers have at least temporarily reunited the blue-line shutdown pair of Marc Staal and Dan Girardi that was a staple throughout much of 2009-10 and essentially all of 2010-11.
It was only when Staal reported to last season’s camp with post-concussion symptoms, which kept him sidelined for the first 36 games of 2011-12, that coach John Tortorella moved Ryan McDonagh to Girardi’s left to form a new top defense pair that remained intact even after No. 18 returned and through the initial stages of this season.
But a week ago tonight, Staal and Girardi skated as a tandem at Montreal. And they were together again at the Garden against Tampa Bay on Thursday while McDonagh — who was sidelined Tuesday against Winnipeg — was paired primarily with Anton Stralman for the second straight game while healthy.
Tortorella cited both a return to full form by Staal and a dip in performance by McDonagh to explain the switch that likely will remain in place for the start of tomorrow night’s match at the Garden against the Sabres, though nothing is guaranteed.
“Mac has been fighting it a bit; he’s been fighting his reads,” said Tortorella, whose team was off yesterday in the wake of Thursday’s Nashterful 4-1 victory over the Lightning. “I want to take a step back and take some pressure off him from facing the top line.”
Thursday’s first period could have presented a pick-your-poison dilemma for the coach, with the Lightning going with one line featuring Vincent Lecavalier between Benoit Pouliot and Marty St. Louis and another with Steven Stamkos centering Cory Conacher and Teddy Purcell.
Of course, the Blueshirts spent nearly the entire period in the Lightning zone, outshooting Tampa Bay 20-3 and out-attempting them 35-7. (The Rangers, by the way, were out-attempted 34-5 in the third period in Boston last Feb. 14 in a 3-0 victory that ranks among the top three performances of Henrik Lundqvist’s career.)
The Lightning switched up after the first period, with St. Louis and Purcell pretty much trading places. Tortorella thus matched the Staal-Girardi pair against Stamkos, St. Louis and Conacher while the McDonagh-Stralman combination took most of the turns against Lecavalier’s line.
Staal clearly is playing his best hockey since returning to the lineup for last year’s Winter Classic. He has been aggressive and decisive at both ends of the ice, and though he has gotten caught a couple of times going down to block shots when staying up likely would have been a more effective tactic, that’s a manifestation of the team’s defensive philosophy.
Girardi leads the Rangers in ice time per game at 24:58, with Staal next at 24:37 — 25:44 over the last 11 games — and McDonagh behind him at 23:51. Winnipeg, by the way, is the only other team with three defensemen (Dustin Byfuglien, Zach Bogosian, Ron Hainsey) averaging at least that many minutes per game.
“I think Marc Staal is playing really well,” Tortorella said, continuing the explanation for switching up on the back end. “That shouldn’t be overlooked that [the move] is as much because of Marc playing well as opposed to it being about Mac.”