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Rangers Notes: Andersson, Chytil, Desharnais, Buchnevich

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It’s rare that a pair of first rounders picked by the same from the latest draft crack the NHL roster right away but that could be the case for the Rangers.  Head coach Alain Vigneault told reporters, including Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News, that both Lias Andersson (7th overall) and Filip Chytil (21st overall) could both break camp with the team to start the season.  New York hasn’t really replaced Derek Stepan down the middle and both youngsters are natural centers.  There will also be an opening on the roster for a few weeks thanks to winger Jesper Fast’s hip surgery this summer that will have him out for the first few weeks of the season.  Andersson and Chytil can each play nine NHL games before burning the first year of their contracts.

More from Manhattan:

  • The team signed David Desharnais with the idea that he can hold down the third line center spot despite struggling considerably last season, notes Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. Although he is only two years removed from a 48 point campaign, he managed just 14 in 49 games between Montreal and Edmonton last year.  From a depth perspective, the team may be better off starting with him as a fourth liner that can move up when injuries arise or someone struggles since he wasn’t able to hold down a full-time top-nine spot in 2016-17 with either team.
  • The back issues that plagued rookie winger Pavel Buchnevich in his rookie season are a thing of the past, writes Newsday’s Steve Zipay. The Russian got off to a strong start despite playing through the pain but by the time the second half rolled around, he spent most of his time on the fourth line or in the press box.  If he’s able to hold down a top-nine spot on the wing, that could also free the team up to try J.T. Miller down the middle as well.

New York Rangers Recall Pavel Buchnevich

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Well that didn’t take long. After sending Pavel Buchnevich down to the Hartford Wolfpack two days ago, the New York Rangers have deemed him necessary once again. He has been recalled to the NHL ahead of their game against the Boston Bruins tonight.

Buchnevich scored two goals and recorded an assist in the Wolfpack’s 4-3 victory last night, making it five points in the four games he’s spent in the AHL this season. In his 21 NHL contests, the 21-year old Russian forward has registered 15 points.

Drafted in the third round in 2013, this is Buchnevich’s first year on North American ice. He played in the KHL the past four seasons including alongside Ilya Kovalchuk and several other former NHLers on St. Petersburg at the end of last year. The rail-thin forward has magic hands that can do pretty much anything with the puck, and like other Russian snipers that have come before him has a howitzer from the circle.

Though the adjustments are still being made to the NHL game and ice, Buchnevich should be a good player in the league for a long time. His recall comes after news that Jesper Fast will miss a few weeks after being injured in practice. The Rangers added defense at the deadline, but will use Buchnevich as their forward addition.

Jesper Fast Out 2-3 Weeks

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With under two hours to go until the Trade Deadline passes, plans for the New York Rangers and GM Jeff Gorton might be changing. Head coach Alain Vigneault confirmed that right winger Jesper Fast was injured in last night’s contest against the Washington Capitals, after taking a hard hit from Alexander Ovechkin, and suffered shoulder damage. The injury is expected to keep him out of the lineup for the next two to three weeks.

Fast, while a bottom-six forward for the Rangers, is also the only right-shooting winger on the team. There is no easy solution to replace him on the right side from the AHL either. It also doesn’t help that Michael Grabner is banged up and questionable for New York’s game against the Boston Bruins tomorrow night. Gorton may need to turn his focus in these final two hours of trade-ability to finding another winger. Options at right wing include Arizona’s Radim Vrbata, whose name has been a hot topic all day, New Jersey’s P.A. Parenteau, and Winnipeg’s Drew Stafford. 

If the Rangers decide against a trade, Pavel Buchnevich is likely the next man up.

Minor Transactions: 1/12/17

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Here is where we’ll keep tabs on today’s comings and goings with the minor leagues:

  • The Islanders announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled defenseman Scott Mayfield from AHL Bridgeport. He will take the place of Travis Hamonic on the active roster, who has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 7th.  Mayfield has played in three games with the Isles this season, picking up a goal and two assists.  He has spent the bulk of the season in the minors where he has three tallies and three helpers in 23 contests.
  • Nashville announced the recall of defenseman Alexandre Carrier from Milwaukee of the AHL. Carrier, a fourth round pick of the Predators back in 2015, has had a strong rookie season in the minor leagues, recording 22 points (4-18-22) in 35 games, earning himself a spot in the AHL All-Star Game.
  • With their bye week set to come to an end, the Coyotes announced that they have recalled center Laurent Dauphin and winger Brendan Perlini from their AHL affiliate in Tucson. Dauphin has spent the bulk of the season with Arizona, recording three points in 21 games while producing at a point-per-game clip in 11 minor league contests.  As for Perlini, he has suited up in 15 NHL games, scoring four goals and an assist while adding 19 points (14-5-19) in 17 games with the Roadrunners.
  • After just three games with AHL Hartford, the Rangers have recalled (Twitter link) winger Pavel Buchnevich.  The Russian rookie made an early impact this season, recording four goals and four assists in ten games before back spasms took him out of the lineup for nearly two months.  New York had sent Buchnevich down to get back into game shape and evidently they’re pleased with how performed; he had a goal and an assist in his three minor league contests.
  • Pittsburgh has assigned defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).  He did not get into any action with the Penguins after being recalled on January 6th.  Ruhwedel has suited up in five NHL games this season, recording a goal and and an assist.
  • The Ducks announced that they have assigned center Chris Wagner to AHL San Diego.  The 25 year old has three goals in 25 games with Anaheim this season and cleared waivers back in mid-November.  Recently, the team had experimented with playing him on the wing; that type of versatility may come in handy as he pushes to be the next player recalled from the Gulls.

New York Hockey Notes: Tortorella, Davidson, Isles, Buchnevich

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The Columbus Blue Jackets, fresh off their 16-game winning streak, are in the unusual position of being considered among the best teams in the NHL. They currently own the league’s best record at 27-6-4 and currently rank among the top teams in several statistical categories. With the Jackets taking an early lead at home against the New York Rangers tonight, it’s perhaps interesting to note how much of an impact two former Blue Shirts have had on the fortunes of Columbus this season, argues Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post.

Former Ranger net minder and television analyst John Davidson took over as President of the Blue Jackets back in 2012 and has overseen the acquisition of much of the current roster. One of his first moves was to bring in the team’s GM, Jarmo Kekalainen, with whom Davidson worked while both were in the Blues organization. Kekalainen and his staff are responsible for drafting Alexander Wennberg and Zach Werenski, among others, and have orchestrated trades for Brandon Saad and Seth Jones.

Perhaps the biggest move Davidson and the Jackets have made was hiring head coach John Tortorella, who spent parts of five seasons behind the bench in New York and who led the Rangers to the playoffs four times and a berth in the 2012 Eastern Conference Final. Tortorella has rebuilt his reputation as one of the league’s top coaches and according to Davidson, Torts has pushed the players and adds “the players are also allowed to not only play the game hard, play the game in the way it should be played, but also have fun doing it. And Torts has done all that stuff.”

It remains to be seen just how far the Jackets will go this season. They certainly look like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender at this point and as the second youngest team in the league, they should remain one of the league’s best for the foreseeable future. Much of the credit for their success is owed to two men who used to be members of one of their Metro division rivals.

Elsewhere in New York hockey:

  • Unlike Columbus, the New York Islanders have underachieved and unless they get things turned around, they’ll be in danger of missing the playoffs. Their struggles this season may also have a negative affect on star center John Tavares’ desire to remain with the Islanders beyond the term of his current contract. Tavares has one more season left on his deal and it would be a crushing blow if he were to leave the team after the 2017-18 campaign. However, while things appear bleak today, the team does have hope for the future as Arthur Staple of Newsday writes. Even though they aren’t quite NHL-ready, Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle are getting a thorough education playing for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL and will soon be ready to contribute for the big club. The talented youngsters are learning what it takes to be pros from former NHL defenseman and Sound Tigers head coach Brent Thompson and while there is still work to be done their skill is undeniable.
  • Pavel Buchnevich, who was assigned to Hartford on the AHL yesterday, appeared in the Wolf Pack’s game last night and tallied a power play goal in his first game action in nearly eight weeks. More importantly for Buchnevich and the Rangers, Buchnevich reported no pain after the game, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post. While the Wolf Pack return to the ice tonight but Buchnevich will not be joining them. Brooks reports that he won’t participate in back-to-back games but is expected to be in the lineup again for the third game of the weekend set, barring any complications of course.

 

Rangers Injury Updates: Buchnevich, Nash, Zibanejad, Staal

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The New York Rangers announced that they have assigned left winger Pavel Buchnevich to Hartford of the AHL.  Buchnevich has been out of the lineup for nearly two months due to back spasms.

The 21 year old rookie made a sizable impact early on this season, recording four goals and four assists in ten games before getting injured.  While this technically isn’t an injury conditioning stint as he is waiver exempt, it effectively will work as one as he’s going down to play his way back into game shape.

Buchnevich is expected to play tonight for the Wolf Pack and head coach Alain Vigneault said they will monitor his progress on a game-by-game basis and go from there, per the teams’ Twitter account.

Vigneault also provided some updates on several other injured Rangers (all Twitter links):

  • Left winger Rick Nash is close but will not suit up tomorrow. He has been out since December 19th with another groin injury.  Vigneault hopes that the ‘bye week’ which for the Rangers runs from January 7th to the 12th will be enough to get him back to 100%.
  • Center Mika Zibanejad skated this morning and felt really good afterwards. He has been out of the lineup since late November due to a broken fibula.  There’s still no timetable for his return.
  • Defenseman Marc Staal remains day-to-day with an upper body sustained on Tuesday against Buffalo. He’s not expected to play tomorrow in Columbus.

Injury Updates: Sharp, Smith, Penguins, Buchnevich

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Stars left winger Patrick Sharp was participating in full practices prior to the holiday break, reports Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.  He had a chance to play in their last game on Friday but head coach Lindy Ruff said that the team does not want to rush him back:

“Right now, it’s not in the conversation.  With Patrick, we really want to be sure this time around. I’ve liked the way he’s skating in practice, I like where he is when it comes to energy. And, really, his body mannerism now is so much better, which I think those are all good signs. He’ll know when he’s ready. He’ll tell us when he thinks he’s ready.”

Sharp has played just 11 games this year because of multiple concussions, picking up just a goal and an assist.  Last season, he was fifth in team scoring with 55 points (20-35-55) in 76 games and his return would go a long way towards lengthening out their lineup.  Even if Sharp isn’t ready to go when Dallas plays tomorrow in Arizona, it sounds like he is close to returning.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • The Red Wings hope to have defenseman Brendan Smith in the lineup tomorrow night, writes MLive’s Ansar Khan. Smith has been out for the last month with a sprained MCL and has four points in 20 games this season while logging just over 18 minutes per night in ice time.  The good news stops there for Detroit though as fellow blueliner Mike Green as well as forwards Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader are expected to miss at least another week.
  • Pittsburgh defensemen Kris Letang (lower body) and Trevor Daley (upper body) as well as right winger Tom Kuhnhackl (lower body) all remain week-to-week and aren’t expected to be available this week, notes Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. After playing three games this week, the Penguins will be off until January 8th so the team could ere on the side of caution and hold them back to make sure they’re fully ready to return after their long layoff.
  • Rangers rookie left winger Pavel Buchnevich (back) skated with the team in a non-contact jersey before their last game in advance of the holiday break, notes Newsday’s Steve Zipay. While he’s still not ready to return, the fact he is back on the ice is a positive after being shut down in early December when he suffered a setback in his recovery.  Buchnevich has four goals and four assists in ten games this year and has been out of the lineup since mid-November.

Rangers Notes: Nieves, Buchnevich, Injuries

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It didn’t last long, but for Cristoval Nieves his first taste of the NHL was probably an exciting one. The hometown kid who was called up from the AHL on Monday was sent back to Hartford today, according to Steve Zipay of Newsday.  Nieves played on Tuesday because of a rash of injuries that hit the Rangers, getting just under 12 minutes of icetime in a 7-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

Nieves will head back down to the AHL where he has six points in thirteen games. The former second-round pick will try to make his way back to the big leagues now that he has a taste of NHL game action.

  • Pavel Buchnevich, one of the injured players who allowed for Nieves’ callup, will skate today according to Zipay but is still unlikely to play Friday against the Blue Jackets. The 21-year old has suffered from back spasms all year, only skating in 10 games thus far. Off to a blistering start in his rookie season, the Russian forward had already put up 8 points this season.
  • Kevin Hayes and Derek Stepan, both banged up on Tuesday should be ready for the Blue Jackets. Hayes scored twice in the win, adding to his impressive point total of 16. Hayes is on pace to blow by last year’s of 14 goals, and the Rangers need him to. At just 24, perhaps he’s developing into something more than a secondary scoring option.

Rangers Notes: Kreider, Hayes, Injuries

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After an early playoff exit last year, the Rangers have put an extra emphasis on speed this season, writes Allan Kreda of the New York Times.  Not only did they add fast skating forwards in Michael Grabner, Brandon Pirri, and Mika Zibanejad, they’ve also encouraged their blueline to play a faster game as well.  While their speed up front has been noticeable, head coach Alain Vigneault has been pleased with its effects on their back end:

“What I like is that we’re using it well defensively. We haven’t given up as many shots and scoring chances. That has permitted us to retrieve the puck quicker and put the speed on display and counterattack to where hopefully it’s more fun: the other team’s end.”

One player who has benefitted from the focus on playing faster is Chris Kreider, who is off to the best start of his career with three goals and four assists in the first four games of the season.  Kreider attributes his fast start to being eliminated so quickly in the postseason last year as that gave him more time to train over the summer and his combination of speed and size has been evident in the early going this season.  So far, he’s giving the Rangers a strong early return on a four year, $18.5MM deal signed late in July.

[Related: Rangers Depth Chart]

Other Rangers news and notes:

  • Center Kevin Hayes is also benefitting from playing quicker as a result of dropping “a pretty good amount of weight” over the summer, notes Peter Botte of the New York Daily News. After taking a step back during his sophomore campaign last year, Vigneault has boosted Hayes’ ice time by over two minutes per game early on while trusting him to take some key faceoffs.  Hayes has responded by winning 50% of his draws so far; by comparison, he won only 36% last season.
  • Rookie winger Pavel Buchnevich is expected to miss at least the next two games due to back spasms, reports Newsday’s Steve Zipay. As for defenseman Dan Girardi, there’s a chance he plays in one of New York’s games this weekend but won’t suit up in both contests.  He has missed the last two games with a groin issue.

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