Rangers' Gerard Gallant on line chemistry: 'It better get better'
New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck against the Boston Bruins in the third period at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Lots of other teams have lost to the Boston Bruins, who have run roughshod over the NHL this season. But Gerard Gallant was pretty angry at his team Thursday night after the Rangers fell to the Bruins, 3-1, at Madison Square Garden.
Gallant said he was unhappy with the amount of quality scoring chances the Rangers allowed in the game, and he seemed particularly unhappy with his second forward line of All-Star Artemi Panarin, center Vincent Trocheck and rookie Vitali Kravtsov.
Midway through the second period, Gallant elevated Jimmy Vesey from the fourth line into Kravtsov’s spot. He said he needed a defensive presence on the line, though he was quick to say he wasn’t blaming Kravtsov.
“I’ve talked about our second line all year long about playing better, harder defensively, not giving up the odd-man rushes. And it continues to happen,’’ he said. “So I have to put somebody over there that is a little more [defensively responsible].
“And it’s not Kravy’s fault. He’s part of the line, but they’ve got to be better than what they are. They create offense, they get good chances, but we’re not going to beat good teams if they continue to exchange chance for them, chance for us, two for them, one for us.”
According to the analytics site Natural Stat Trick, the Panarin-Trocheck-Kravtsov line actually gave up only one scoring chance in 5:16 of ice time against Boston and generated six of its own.
However, the line was outscored 1-0. It was on the ice for a goal by Pavel Zacha that gave the Bruins the lead 1:19 into the game.
Panarin had nine shot attempts, five of which were on target. Trocheck had seven attempts, three on goal. But Gallant seemed frustrated anyway, and when asked what he thought about the chemistry between the two players, he responded: “Well, it better get better.’’
Through 46 games, Trocheck, who was signed to a seven-year, $39.375 million contract as a free agent to replace Ryan Strome as the second-line center, doesn’t seem to have developed the kind of chemistry with Panarin that Strome had in their three years together.
Last month, Gallant briefly split up the two players. He tried Panarin with Filip Chytil, and then with top-line center Mika Zibanejad, and he put Trocheck between wingers Vesey and Chris Kreider. That trio was together for nine games, and Trocheck said at the time he believed the three had good chemistry because they all played a similar “straight-line” style.
Eventually, though, Gallant reunited Kreider with Zibanejad, his longtime linemate, and Kaapo Kakko. He also put Trocheck back together with Panarin. The coach has said several times that he has, in his mind, a vision of what the lines should ideally be, and it seems clear he wants to keep Kreider together with Zibanejad and wants to try to make it work with Panarin and Trocheck.
But Panarin and Trocheck have been outscored 20-14 when they’re on the ice together in five-on-five situations, according to Natural Stat Trick. Trocheck’s minus-9 is the worst plus/minus figure on the team. And in his last 11 games — the last nine of which he’s played alongside Panarin —Trocheck has one goal and two assists.
It doesn’t seem as if it’s working.
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.
