Rangers head into the second round without Mats Zuccarello
By Cameron Fine
The New York Rangers received excellent news heading into Game One of the second round against the Washington Capitals, in that they will finally get Kevin Klein back in the lineup after missing the last seven weeks with a broken arm sustained after blocking a shot against, coincidentally, Alex Ovechkin. This means that Matt Hunwick, who played very solid defensively against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, will now be a healthy scratch, and the Rangers phenomenal defensive core will now be fully healthy.
On the other side of the coin, the Rangers received a devastating blow upon learning that first-liner Mats Zuccarello will be out for all of the second round, and it is doubtful that he will be available for the third round or even for the Stanley Cup Finals, provided the Rangers even make it that far. This is without a doubt a worse loss than when Kevin Klein was out. The Rangers were able to replace Klein’s defensive abilities with Matt Hunwick. They’re unfortunately not going to be able to replace what Zuccarello brings to the team, as James Sheppard will now be in the lineup, who does not possess nearly the same abilities as Zuccarello.
The 5’7″ Zuccarello brings everything that Rangers fans look for in a hockey player: toughness, energy, and passion. Every single night Mats brings his A-game and it’s evident from the way he plays. He’s an incredibly hard skater who’s not afraid to hit and get into the dirty areas of the ice. He’s a pest to play against, and he loves to get into everyone’s faces, especially if they try to go after one of his teammates. Zuccarello is a spark plug for the team, and his hardworking mannerisms ignite his linemates and get them to bring the same enthusiasm.
From a playing standpoint, Zuccarello is one of the most creative skaters on the ice. He’s got a tremendous wrist shot and is able to score when he needs to, but what really makes him stand out is his phenomenal passing ability and tremendous vision. Zuccarello has a lot of chemistry with his linemates and knows exactly where they will be and when. He constantly looks over his shoulder as he chases after a dumped-in puck, and frequently throws the puck towards the slot area looking for teammates or for a deflection in front.
Zuccarello makes a tremendous read here as he sees Daniel Carcillo crashing towards the net, and he comes up the ice towards the top of the faceoff circle to collect the puck. After getting the Flyers’ forward to chase him up, he then cuts backward while spinning to give himself some space to work with and make the cross-crease pass. Somehow Zuccarello was able to get this pass through two Flyers’ defenseman and one Flyers’ forward right on the tape to Carcillo who is able to deflect the puck into the net.
Zuccarello has been a clutch player for the New York Rangers all season, and the Rangers are unfortunately going to have to make the climb to the Stanley Cup without him for at least the second round, and probably more.
More from isportsweb.com:
