Rangers' remixed defense pairs working well vs. Capitals
Adam Fox of the New York Rangers skates against the Washington Capitals in Game Two. Credit: Jim McIsaac
WASHINGTON — Adam Fox sat on the bench for the final four minutes and 54 seconds of Game 2 of the Rangers’ first-round playoff series against the Capitals on Tuesday in Madison Square Garden, powerless to help as his teammates, playing five skaters against six after Washington pulled its goalie, desperately tried to preserve a one-goal lead in the final two minutes.
Every time one of the Blueshirts got hold of the puck and tried to clear the zone, he couldn’t do it. The Rangers were hemmed in, unable to get a chance to change, and get fresh bodies on the ice.
All Fox, the Rangers’ No. 1 defenseman, could do was watch.
“One-goal games are always stressful,’’ the Jericho native said a couple days later, long after the Rangers had managed to hold on for the 4-3 win that put them up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
“I mean, you're trusting the guys on the ice, and who you have out there,’’ he said. “And sometimes it ends up being longer and more of a battle than you hope. You'd love to just get [the puck] out, score an empty netter, and ice the game. But it doesn't always work like that.’’
One of the things Rangers coach Peter Laviolette did late in the regular season that he’s continued in the playoffs, and has helped in situations like at the end of Game 2, was tweak his defense pairs. He broke up the long-time partnership between captain Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller, pairing Miller with youngster Braden Schneider and Trouba with veteran Erik Gustafsson.
“I think it gives us a really good balance of six defensemen that are able to contribute,’’ Laviolette said Friday morning, after the Rangers’ optional morning skate at Capital One Arena prior to Game 3. “We've rolled the defensemen… I think ‘Key’ and Schneider have played really well together. And so that's a positive for our team. I also think that Gus and Troubs have played well together, and Lindy [Ryan Lindgren] and Foxy remain strong.’’
The way Laviolette explains it, the changes allow the Rangers to have three reliable defense pairs, as opposed to two top pairs and a third pair that gets less ice time and generally plays against other teams’ third- and fourth lines.
And the coach still has the flexibility to mix and match the pairs whenever he feels the need. There were times in Games 1 and 2, for instance, that he had Trouba and Miller back together. And in that five-on-six situation at the end of Game 2, he had Trouba and Lindgren — who play together on the penalty kill — on the ice together for all of it.
Miller, whose 21:34 average ice time over the regular season was second on the team behind Fox’s 23:27, said he’s noticed how the new configuration of the defense has led to players taking on different responsibilities in different situations. In the first two playoff games, Miller played 21:10 in Game 1 and 18:48 in Game 2 — when he was sitting on the bench at the end, as Fox was.
“It's great that we have that type of depth,’’ Miller said. “I think we have a number of guys — not just these six — that could step up and play the minutes that we've been playing. So it's good to have a good rotation.’’
It’s not just about ice time, though. There are matchups to consider, as well.
On a Zoom call Wednesday, Laviolette touched on how the team’s depth at the center position — with Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck, Alex Wennberg and Barclay Goodrow — allows him to feel comfortable no matter which line happens to be on ice against opposing teams’ top lines. That is particularly important in road games, where Laviolette does not have the last line change, and therefore can’t dictate particular matchups he may want.
The same holds true for the defense pairs, as well, and in creating three balanced pairs, Laviolette said he now feels comfortable if any of those pairs ends up out against a top line.
“I do think that you need to get [team defense] from a balance in your entire lineup, and I think we've been able to do that,’’ he said. “I like the ‘D’ pairings. . . . They can play against anybody.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
