There is no longer any confusion for the Rangers or for Marc Staal as the Blueshirts continue their chase of the Flyers and the final Eastern Conference playoff berth in Buffalo tomorrow night after a two-day respite.
The Rangers, 5-0-1 in their past six following the weekend sweep through south Florida, are two points down with four games remaining. The Flyers have three remaining following their 4-3 victory over the Red Wings yesterday.
The Blueshirts, who face the Maple Leafs at home on Wednesday, one night after the Flyers play in Toronto, conclude the season with a home-and-home against Philadelphia.
The Rangers are also two points behind Boston and equal in victories with the Bruins, who play the first of their four remaining games tonight in Washington.
If it’s clear to the Rangers, it’s also clear to Staal, re-emerging as a force on the blue line after a first-half marked largely by tentative play. It wasn’t so much that Staal, still in just his third year and most often matched against the opposition’s top guns, had regressed as that he seemed unable to pinpoint his niche.
Head coach John Tortorella urged Staal to add more offense to his game — to carry the puck, to lead the rush, to become the linear descendent of Brian Leetch. The problem, however, was that the skates didn’t fit.
“At the beginning of the year, the coaches wanted me to get more involved in the offense, and it took time to get used to playing that way in a new system,” Staal said on Saturday. “I think I was a little confused with what they wanted and what I was bringing to the table.
“It took me a while to figure that out.”
Trapped or caught out of position in his own end, Staal seemed to be chasing the puck, unable to consistently bring the physical element that had set him apart on a very polite defense. But as the season evolved, Tortorella and the staff weaned him off the puck-carrying that had detracted from play in the defensive zone.
Indeed, the Rangers have undergone an extreme makeover from the “safe is death” philosophy that Tortorella had sought to import from Tampa. The transformation from that to “look both ways before crossing” has helped Staal reclaim his identity.
Ironically, as Staal has regained his proficiency in his own end, he has become more dangerous with the puck, more often joining the rush rather than leading it, though his third-period, coast-to-coast goal against the Panthers on Saturday was not only Leetchian but marked his third goal in the last three games.
Perhaps there is no irony to it at all, though, for it is as Tortorella has proclaimed for weeks: good defensive position leads to offensive opportunities. Perhaps the first-half misadventures helped lay a foundation for Staal to become more proficient with the puck.
“As the year went on, I went back to playing to my strength, which is defense,” Staal said. “At the same time, I have gotten better offensively.
“My primary responsibility is to be strong in my own end. The coaches send me out against the top guys. That’s my job. If I have the opportunity to contribute at the other end, I’ll go, but I’m not going to force it.”
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The Rangers called up winger Dale Weise from the AHL Wolf Pack and returned overmatched center Corey Locke to Hartford.