New York Rangers Must Solve Depth Issues Now to Play Again in June

NEW YORK — The 2013-14 New York Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final on the strength of their depth, on being a four-line team.

That depth took a hit during the offseason as a result of Brad Richards, Benoit Pouliot, Brian Boyle and even Derek Dorsett moving on to greener pastures via free agency, trade or buyout. The Rangers did what they could to replace those assets, but a salary cap can tie the hands of even the richest teams.

After five games in which it was mostly Rich Nash or nothing, the Rangers finally received some meaningful contributions from someone other than Nash.

Carl Hagelin and Kevin Hayes scored their first goals of the season Sunday as the Rangers took care of a weary San Jose Sharks team 4-0 at Madison Square Garden. It was the first time in 2014-15 that the Rangers scored four goals in a game.

Yeah, Nash scored his league-leading seventh goal in the win against a Sharks squad playing its third road game in four days, but at long last, he got a little help.

Player	Position	Goals
Rick Nash	RW	7
Derick Brassard	C	3
Lee Stempniak	RW	2
Martin St. Louis	RW	1
Chris Kreider	LW	1
Carl Hagelin	LW	1
Kevin Hayes	C/LW	1

Good sign for a team that's 3-3-0 to start the season?

"Yeah, it is," said Rangers defenseman Marc Staal. "We lost some of those guys in the offseason. It takes time for guys to come in and feel comfortable and get going. We're still a work in progress, but yeah, in order for our team [to be successful], we can't have Nash filling the net every night because it's not going to go that way all the time.

"We need everyone."

It's no secret that what separates elite teams from good teams is depth, but just how important was scoring depth to last year's Rangers?

There were 13 forwards who averaged fewer than 16 minutes per game, a list that includes Derick Brassard and Chris Kreider at the high end and six minutes apiece at the low end from Arron Asham and Brandon Mashinter. Those forwards combined for 89 of the Rangers' 214 goals, 41.2 percent of the total.

It's been six games, a ridiculously smaller sample size, of course, but that support hasn't been there in 2014-15.

The distribution of minutes has been more balanced and varied this season, as the team's top-six forwards average between 15:30 and 18:05. The nine forwards averaging fewer than 15 minutes per game have combined for two of the Rangers' 16 goals, 12.5 percent.

Team	Total goals	Non-top-six EV goals	Percentage
Los Angeles	198	56	28.3
Chicago	261	65	24.9
N.Y. Rangers	214	66	30.8
Montreal	209	53	25.3

One of those goals came from Hayes, who centered the team's second line with Nash and Kreider on Sunday but played just 13:13 overall, ninth-most ice time among Rangers forwards in the contest.

In terms of even-strength production, which only makes this year's squad look better since it hasn't scored a power-play goal in six games, this year's club is lagging. The 2013-14 Rangers forwards who played fewer than 16 minutes per game scored 66 goals in 6,981 minutes, an average of a goal about every 106 minutes.

This year's group of nine forwards playing fewer than 15 minutes per game has two goals in 410 minutes, an average of a goal every 205 minutes.

The problem is exacerbated by the absence of top-line center Derek Stepan, who is out until the beginning of November with a fractured leg. It has forced coach Alain Vigneault to shuffle and reshuffle his lines and search for help at center by trying St. Louis there for a bit, using J.T. Miller (now in the AHL) as a third-line center, then putting Hayes in the middle with mixed results.

Jared Silber/Getty Images

It also doesn't help that the Rangers have yet to receive a goal from a defenseman, as power-play quarterback Dan Boyle suffered a broken hand in the second game of the season that will keep him out until November.

It's important to emphasize that it's early in the season and two goals from Tanner Glass (you never know) in the first four minutes of the Rangers' next game on Tuesday against the Devils will put them right on schedule with the last year's team in terms of depth production. With time-on-ice averages more likely to fluctuate, the numbers can change along with an individual's ice time.

But no matter how you parse the numbers, it hasn't been good for the Rangers in 2014-15.

It's also important to note that the Rangers didn't figure out their depth last season until the end of December, when Vigneault constructed a third line of Pouliot, Brassard and Zuccarello that dominated its inferior competition. With Pouliot in Edmonton, Brassard now centering a second line when Stepan is healthy and Zuccarello seeing time in the top six, the Rangers are searching for that difference-making third line for 2014-15.

In a perfect world, the Rangers' top six consists of Stepan, Nash, Kreider, Brassard, St. Louis and Zuccarello. That would leave a third line of Hagelin, Hayes and Lee Stempniak, who has two goals on the season.

There's potential there, but it comes down to how Hayes produces in his first NHL season. At 6'5" and 225 pounds, Hayes has the size and skill suited to produce on a third line while Stepan and Brassard eat the tougher competition. Hagelin and Stempniak have been quality possession players the past three seasons, so it stands to reason if Hayes can realize his potential quickly in 2014-15, the Rangers could have something.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

“There’s a big body with the puck," Vigneault said of Hayes. "With the puck, he shows a lot of poise. With his size, he can protect that puck. I thought in our end he was in the right position. He didn’t panic the couple of times he got the puck down low. He held onto it and made high-percentage plays. He’s taking steps ever day and he needs to continue."

Dominic Moore, better suited to be a fourth-line center who can excel while starting most of his shifts in the defensive zone, has been forced to play bigger minutes in the absence of Stepan. The return of Stepan should also mean the return of Moore to more consistent fourth-line responsibilities with the likes of Ryan Malone and Tanner Glass, who are major downgrades over Brian Boyle and Dorsett.

With Stepan out, Vigneault is playing a patchwork game, just trying to get the Rangers through October in decent enough shape that when his top-line center returns, everyone can slot into their proper places for the final five months and build chemistry.

That's what makes Hayes' performance over the next few weeks so important. Miller failed in his audition as a third-line center, Moore is a fourth-line center and Chris Mueller belongs on an AHL roster. If Hayes can develop confidence working in the top six while Hagelin and Stempniak develop chemistry on a third line, perhaps the three can come together when Stepan returns.

If the Rangers want to play into June again, they need to start solving their depth issues in October, a process that may have began Sunday.

All statistics via NHL.com or war-on-ice.com.

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @DaveLozo.