The New York Islanders and Rangers shocked the hockey world this week when they agreed to a trade. The Islanders acquired Carson Soucy from the Rangers in exchange for a third-round pick. It was the first time in 2010 that the two traded, and only the fourth time in history. It appears that Mathieu Darche and Chris Drury do not have the same hesitation about trading with each other as previous regimes.
There was a huge trade completed over the weekend involving Rasmus Andersson being shipped out by the Calgary Flames to join the Vegas Golden Knights, a team that happened to be Andersson's top choice on his list. While Flames general manager Craig Conroy may have done right by the player, the Golden Knights' offer of defenceman Zach Whitecloud and potentially two first-round picks ended up surpassing what the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and Dallas Stars were offering.
During last night's broadcast, with the absence of Adam Fox, Kenny and Dave gave Vlad Gavrikov the moniker "Vlad Park" after Rangers legend Brad Park. While the entire Rangers team has brought us back from the brink over the last few games, Gavrikov in particular is showing just why the Rangers were so keen on signing him in free agency. Between last night in Ottawa and Monday's against Dallas, Gavrikov has essentially carried the team into looking this good.
Artemi Panarin was locked in last night, opening the scoring only minutes in and adding three assists. Things have not always been smooth in the top six, but if they are finally turning a corner then it's the perfect time for the conglomerate of talent to finally click. It's been the missing link, as the bottom six has mainly been carrying the Rangers so far.
It's been a minute since the Rangers dropped a 7 spot on an opponent, and while a small sample, it's clear this team missed Vincent Trocheck. His line with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere has been the Harlem Globetrotters on ice. Maybe we deeply underestimated just how much of a skilled glue guy he is for this team. The line scored four of the seven goals, including multi point nights for Panarin (1-3-4) and Trocheck (2-0-2).
As the Rangers continue to be unable to score consistently, or at all at home, fan frustration is starting to boil. The Rangers have all the right numbers, but their shots just aren't hitting the back of the net. Reasons and excuses are made, some logical and some not. Many rightly point to the Rangers needing more from Artemi Panarin, while many also state the Rangers miss Chris Kreider.
