The Rangers’ two highest- paid players by far are their two biggest disappointments, and yet they have made it to the All-Star break six points ahead of the 52-game pace of a year ago, up 13 goals while down 15 goals against.
Two of Marian Gaborik’s 16 goals have come in three games and just two have produced third-period leads or ties. He will need a good finish to break 30, never mind the 42 he scored in 2009-10. But the Rangers are five points to the good of ninth place, where they finished a year ago out of the playoffs.
Captain Chris Drury has yet to score a goal since his return 20 games ago from a broken finger and is not contributing enough in any way to warrant top nine ice time when the Rangers get healthy again. Yet the Rangers are just five points out of fourth place in the Eastern Conference, which would give them home-ice advantage in the first round.
Gaborik has missed 14 games, Ryan Callahan, the Rangers’ second-best forward, has been absent for 20 games and Brandon Dubinsky, their third best forward, has missed the last five. But in those five, the Rangers twice came from behind in third periods to beat teams in playoff position.
Smoke and mirrors? Mirrors, certainly, because the Rangers have given themselves reason to admire the view. And though rookies Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello are contributing offensively, their most impactful change is the ebb in the smoke coming out of the coach John Tortorella’s ears.
Every young veteran on the team — Marc Staal, Brian Boyle, Artem Anisimov, Brandon Prust, Callahan, Dubinsky — has elevated his game a level from 2009-10, Tortorella’s first full season. Though these players have gained more maturity because of their experience, it also is undeniable that the coach pushing them has matured them, too.
A facilitator of huge ice times for a star-laden Stanley Cup champion in Tampa Bay, Tortorella has necessarily built a team-first mentality with a more equitable distribution. He has acknowledged the obvious impact of the injuries but not allowed his players to dwell on them.
We all have our second guesses, but Tortorella has extended and pulled back ice times pretty much in accordance with a players’ current contributions. Through all the line juggling, a team with a likely fatal absence of a true No. 1 center still has scored the fifth-most goals in the conference. And despite the presence of two rookies, Michael Sauer and Ryan McDonagh, and a sophomore, Matt Gilroy, on defense, the Rangers also have given up the fourth fewest, so clearly there is teaching going on.
Having been finally delivered a backup goalie he trusts, Tortorella has played Marty Biron to the benefit of Lundqvist. The coach has been publicly honest about Gaborik’s struggles, yet hasn’t seemed to lose him, and not only has the star bought into the team concept, he shows signs of finally getting untracked.
Meanwhile, a far less uptight coach has stopped picking fights with the media over slights, real or imagined. Stonewalls like his silly refusal to apologize for his suspension for an altercation with Washington fans until after the Rangers’ elimination in 2009 are fewer, as are bench explosions of a level that excoriated Michael del Zotto after a dumb penalty last season.
When Callahan and Dubinsky return, Drury’s struggles will be addressed in a way not likely to leave an aging captain happy, one more challenge this coach seems likely to handle. Despite all of the injuries and Gaborik’s struggles, Tortorella has pushed almost all the right buttons and has his team in position to be a team nobody would want to face in the playoffs.