Last season, the Rangers defined themselves by their Black-and-Blueshirt mentality.
After a pair of demoralizing losses to the Canadiens and Panthers in the past week, Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky said he thinks the team needs to get back to playing that way starting this afternoon against the Capitals in Washington.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re there supporting each other,” Dubinsky said after Wednesday’s 2-1 loss at Florida. “It doesn’t help if you have one guy there on the forecheck making a hit and there’s no one there to pick up the puck.
“I think it’s just a matter of mind-set. We’ve just got to know that we can be better, and we’ve got to go out and execute. … That’s the biggest thing for me.”
Dubinsky attributed the offensive woes against Montreal and Florida, in which they combined for one goal and were outshot 69-37, to not playing the Black-and-Blueshirt game.
“That’s a big part of our game, going and getting pucks and winning battles and being a good team grinding and cycling,” Dubinsky said. “All of those things happen because you’re supporting one another.
“One guy makes a hit, another takes the puck. One guy rotates up the wall, another goes and gives him support. It’s just not there consistently right now to get our offense going.”
One player who likely won’t be able to contribute to the Rangers’ effort to get back on track today is forward Andre Deveaux, who spoke with the league office about his inexcusable elbow to the head of Panthers forward Tomas Fleischmann that resulted in a match penalty and ejection Wednesday.
Deveaux will learn what his punishment is today. Based on the moves the Rangers made yesterday, recalling forwards Carl Hagelin and John Mitchell from the AHL’s Connecticut Whale, they aren’t expecting Deveaux to be available.
With the Rangers in the midst of an offensive dry spell, they will be hoping Hagelin, their sixth-round pick in 2007, can provide them with a spark. Hagelin, who could make his NHL debut today, was tied for the Whale lead in goals (seven), was second in points (13), and led the team with a plus-12.
Mitchell was acquired from the Maple Leafs in February for a seventh-round pick in the 2012 draft. The 26-year-old, who appeared in 159 games for Toronto over the past three seasons, has also been putting up points for the Whale.