“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”  Pretty sure we don’t need Charles Dickens to tell the difference between the Rangers penalty kill and power play units.  One ranks at the bottom of the NHL, the other is one of the major reasons the Blueshirts have started playing more consistently.

Let’s talk power play first.  Being a puck addict, I watch as many games as time permits.  Lately, I have been watching the power play of top units, particularly the Pens, Blues and the Bolts.  What popped out at me wasn’t necessarily these teams’ power plays, but how other teams defended it.

Coach Torts’ mentioned after the New Jersey Devils’ loss, “”We have some guys playing tentative…careful…we don’t play careful hockey.”  This is exactly what I witnessed on how teams play the top three power plays in the league.  Tentative.  Teams sit back, guard lanes and don’t press.  They are almost afraid to get up on contact.

Now, watch how teams play the New York Rangers’ power play.  Opponents press, throw bodies, cause errant passes and scoring opportunities.  It is as if the shorthanded team is so NOT concerned with the Rangers scoring with a man advantage, their entire focus is causing an odd man rush up ice for a shorty.  Why?  Tentative.  There’s that word again.  Watching the Rangers power play, how many fans aren’t sitting on the edge of their seats HOPING the other team doesn’t score?  Pretty sure the opposition scouting has the same observation.

So what to do?  Back to the top three teams.  They all do unconventional things down low.  I’ll exemplify the Pens as living in Pittsburgh, I’m forced fed Root homer broadcasts and dole out a generous portion of Sindy love with every puck drop.  No one will ever convince me Bob Errey isn’t wearing #87 underoors under his well-tailored suits.  I digress.  One thing the Pens do is rotate Crosby and Malkin netfront.  Yes, their most effective set up is putting two of their snipers right in front of the net and rotate it from left to right, depending on which side of the ice the puck is cycling.  The free man who is leaving the net front moves behind the net and inverts the point, vintage Wayne Gretzky back in the early Edmonton Oilers days.  The point defenseman then collapses into the slot.  What does the PK do when this happens?  They become TENTATIVE as their assignments have all just scrambled and they can’t press.  They are forced to stay home and try to figure out where the shooting lanes are now as the entire set has now changed.

Since game one, I’ve been hoping to see what kind of opportunities would blow up if Rick Nash took the net front and drifted in and out with Cally in a similar rotation.  Especially with offensive zone control and consistent cycling getting the opposition penalty kill moving, goalie moving and unable to get fresh legs on the ice.  Puck on the net not to score, but to set up a quality scoring opportunity down low or yielding a nice juicy rebound.

I know, I yell “shoot the effing puck” as much as anyone.  Why if I am such a proponent of patience for the quality shot then?  Simple – the Rangers are tentative.  Again, that word.   Not only do they NOT pull the trigger on the shot, they hesitate when cycling as well – that is in the rare event they can get the puck back into the zone after a clear.  The results?  The opposition presses on the penalty kill, turnovers, and on a few shifts, more short-handed scoring opportunities yielded than shots on goal.  That will earn 29^th place in the league with a 5/49 earning a 10.2% on the power play.

Now to the best of times: The Penalty Kill.  The addition of Darroll Powe has strengthened the unit as the guy simply hustles all over the zone.  As King Henrik seems to be settling back in to his Vezina form, the last line of defense on the kill just keeps getting better and better.  The shot blocking has returned to Rangers hockey.  Now if the Blueshirts can get that “too many men on the ice” thing worked out, we won’t be as reliant on the PK and can enjoy more of that stretch pass offense that is exciting to watch.

Finally, catching up from the past week, congrats to JT Miller for his first two NHL goals, Gabby for 2 Birthday points and Arron Asham for his first goal as a Ranger. That goal earned AA a pretty cool achievement of scoring a goal for every Atlantic Division team in his 14 seasons.  Speaking of Double A, who doesn’t love that Forth Line of Jeff Halpern, Arron Asham and Darroll Powe?  I’m sure someone wiser, with more wit than I, will come up with a cooler name for them, but I offer up: The Journeymen.

Remember: Hockey Day in America, Sunday, February 17th.

Go Rangers!