The Rangers have been playing some very good hockey in the last few weeks putting them in a playoff position by close to 6 games advantage with a few games at hand but have shown that they can not compete with Eastern Conference favorites Tampa Bay and New York Islanders so far this season.  Most of the Rangers problems stem from not having anyone on the roster that can win faceoffs.

The Rangers more times than not lose faceoffs and the first 20-30 seconds of all powerplays because of it. When the Rangers have teams pinned down in the offensive zone, teams are not afraid to ice the puck to their advantage because they know they have a chance to rest and get control of the puck off the faceoff. When the Rangers win a faceoff they are more times than not out of position because they actually play to lose it since that is the more likely situation and not going into open areas to get shooting lanes, but more going after the opposition causing them not to be able to be open for a shot. If the Rangers want to be a legit contender for the Eastern Conference spot fighting for the Stanley Cup like last season, they HAVE to bring in a player that can coiunted on to win faceoffs more than the centers currently on the roster to make their opposition to play more honestly and fear losing faceoffs.  The player that makes the most sense at this time is Vermette from Arizona. His team is already out of contention and would likely cost just a roster player (also with an expiring contract) and a prospect (likely J.T. Miller or Oscar Lindberg who the Rangers actually got from Arizona in an earlier deal). Vermette is a good faceoff man and is familiar with Rick Nask and Derrick Brassard from playing in Columbus. He is a free agent at years end and it would seem doubtful he would be more than just a rental as the only way that he would fit under next years cap would be if Mats Zuccarello or Carl Hagelin is either traded this season or Zuccarello is not resigned this summer or Hagelin is traded this summer as he will still be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer. Hopefully the organization comes to a collective agreement soon on who to keep and what center that can win faceoffs comes into town. It clearly seems that the Rangers will have to make a choice between Hagelin and Zuccarello even if the cap goes iup to the estimated $72 million next year.

How were these Rangers made? These Rangers were made through the draft( Marc Staal, Jesper Fast, Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Carl Hagelin, J.T. Miller, Henrik Lundqvist; players signed out of Jr's/college that chose Rangers Dan Girardi, Mats Zuccarello, Cameron Talbot,Kevin Hayes; players wanting to be in New York on  reasonable contracts Dan Boyle, Matt Hunwick, Tanner Glass, Ryan Malone; players that forced their way to broadway by trades such as Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis; and then other trades Captain Ryan McDonagh,Derrick Brasard, Kevin Klein, and John Moore.  There seems to be a common theme amongst most of these players is that they WANT to play for the Rangers. It is a far cry from a decade ago when players just followed the money.  Will any player ask to come to the Rangers this season that may put them at the level of the teams like the Lightning, RedWings, or Islanders?? We should know in a few days hopefully.

With Montreal up next the --Rangers have to find their legs as this is a type of team they should match up well against. If the Rangers go 18-19 the rest of the way they would get to the 94 points on the season which is usually enough to get into the playoffs. I predict they will go 23-14 that will get them 104 points on the season. In order for the Rangers to get knocked out of a playoff spot with the 94 points....these are the teams and the records they would need(some teams have played a different amount of games so far)....Florida (22-15)..Toronto(23-10)..Ottowa(24-12)...Philly(24-9)...Columbus(25-11)....Newark(25-9)...Carolina(28-7)...Buffalo(no chance in hell). Remember, that is with the Rangers only going (18-19) so it would seem the Rangers have their own destiny in their hands. Now lets go get a center that can win faceoffs so I can figure the numbers for the teams ahead of us, where the Rangers belong. LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!