Yes, the Rangers were able to overcome Marian Gaborik’s early-season, 12-game absence by reinventing themselves as an in-your-face squad with a pack-mentality dedicated to hunting opponents as well as pucks.
The loss of the sniper forced the Rangers to abandon their dependence on their singular goal-scoring talent and become inter-dependent, much to their benefit and to the delight of the fan base that has been starving for this kind of a blue-collar team.
But the broken hand sustained last week by Ryan Callahan that is expected to sideline the winger for up to two months is an entirely different matter.
This one strikes at the Rangers’ very essence. For it is Callahan, relentless and reckless, indefatigable and indomitable, who had evolved into the heartbeat of the team and whose absence has already created a significant tear in its right ventricle. It’s obvious already.
The Black-and-Blueshirts are different without Callahan, and this isn’t a good thing. The energy level is down. Their attack and pack philosophy is compromised. Their ability to generate momentum from shift to shift and to go from one hard cycle to the next has been diminished since No. 24 went down a few minutes into last Wednesday’s match in Pittsburgh.
Now they’re trying to become more of a patient, counter-punching team. That’s what they tried to be for a lot of last season.
The Rangers can’t change who they are this time with this injury. Do they need Gaborik to become the omnipotent threat he was into the Olympic break last season? They most certainly do.
To that end, John Tortorella, who has done an outstanding job in coaching this overachieving group, needs to identify linemates for Gaborik and stick with them.
If they’re loading up, the best option is to go with Brandon Dubinsky on the left and Derek Stepan in the middle, with Gaborik on the right. But that leaves the club so top heavy, it may not be sustainable.
Erik Christensen has been a more complete player his last two games, so it might be best at least temporarily to use No. 26 between Gaborik and Dubinsky in order to free Stepan for duty on a second unit that would be a forechecking, cycling, high-energy combination featuring Chris Drury on one flank and Sean Avery on the other.
There’s no doubt that Avery has to improve his work in the defensive zone and his decision-making in the neutral zone in order to command trust from his coach. But there’s equally little doubt Avery consistently has been among the club’s most effective forecheckers and most valuable energy guys.
Avery’s value increases in Callahan’s absence. The loss of Callahan is going to force Tortorella to lean even more heavily on everyone in uniform and to create a fourth line — if Artem Anisimov and Alex Frolov make up two-thirds of that unit, then “fourth line” is no pejorative — that can take a regular turn and has a purpose beyond being a depository for mismatched individuals.
The first instinct following Callahan’s injury has been to pull back. That’s not a sustainable approach. The Rangers must press on into the dirty areas of the rink. They must get the puck in deep and go to work, shift upon shift upon shift. They must be relentless. That’s what they became without Gaborik.
It’s not going to be easy, not at all, but that’s what they must remain without Callahan.