There were the last half-dozen games leaking in Pavel Buchnevich’s game, and enough of that to earn a lower allocation in the fourth line in the battle of Friday’s 1-0 defeat to the Bruins, which meant two. shifts worth 1:46 time during the last 11 minutes.
The winger, who has chased most of the past two plus seasons to the right of Mika Zibanejad in the middle and Chris Kreider on the left flank, has scored one goal in the last 11 games in Tuesday’s home side against the Gardens against the good equipped Devils. . It was an empty lead against the Caps in the 4-2 win on February 4, representing the Blueshirts’ last win.
The lack of production hardly makes Buchnevich stand out. Indeed, he would fit right in with the crowd that entered the game on Tuesday, and he has already passed the 181:23 twice, as no. 89 put the shooter in the evacuated cage. These are other elements of the game that David Quinn quoted during his pre-game video conference to explain why Buchnevich was dropped in the order.
“I thought he was our best forward for seven or eight games, and then there was a dive into his game,” the coach said. “The consistency of what he did earlier in the year, with a constant effort, a constant lead in his game.”
The translation is that Quinn does not see quite the same toughness on the puck, zeal of the puck and competition in fights as the Rangers try to work themselves through this production desert.
“It fell a bit and I think he was a little frustrated from an offensive perspective that could creep into other parts of people’s games,” Quinn said. “We just need him to get back to where he was.
‘We’ll see how it goes [against the Devils] and at some point we can reward people [who are] better play. ”
That’s the thing, though. Buchnevich’s average ice time of 20:00 per game, which ranks him 30th among NHL forwards, will likely have to be reduced regardless of his production or off-the-bag ability. He was on the alleged first line with Zibanejad and (mostly) Kreider, he was on the power play and he was on the first penalty goal tandem.
His 20:00 per is a jump of 18.1 percent. from last season’s 16:56. It’s a notable addition to Buchnevich’s workload that includes working with the shorthand unit for the first time in his NHL career. This is something that the 25-year-old Russian was very good at, even through this vomiting offense. In fact, Buchnevich scored only 35:25 at three powerplays and scored the fewest shots at every 60 minutes of any Blueshirt forward.
Perhaps the wing’s decline in physical play coincides with the extra ice time. No offense (alternative meaning), but we are not talking about a physical instance here either. It should be noted, however, that Buchnevich was there, before and in the middle, to challenge Brad Marchand when the Boston wing tried to take freedom with Artemi Panarin after no. 10 returned to the ice on February 10 after sitting for a long time with an unidentified abdomen injury that has since set him aside. It should also be noted that Buchnevich clashed with Jeremy Lauzon, a Boston defender, two nights later.
The bigger picture, however, is: Quinn is one of the coaches who loves horseback riding, of which he has identified Buchnevich this season. Edmonton’s Dave Tippett drives Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the trio for the average eight forwards in the NHL for average ice time. The Maple Leafs’ Sheldon Keefe rides Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, first and fourth, respectively. The Sabers’ Ralph Krueger drives Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Taylor Hall, the three between the 10th and 18th in front.
Quinn and the Rangers? Panarin is 14th, Zibanejad is 16th and Buchnevich is 30th. It does not seem excessive, certainly not for a team that is top-heavy and not deep, but it can certainly be when the guys act like a bit of players. It was not yet last year, when Panarin and Zibanejad took turns carrying the offense virtually from start to finish.
The continued absence of Filip Chytil, who has been sidelined since suffering an unidentified injury on Jan. 24 in Pittsburgh and still not skating, highlighted the lack of depth. It was a double slap for the team and the coach, whose doubling of the best guys did not bear fruit. Before New Jersey, the Rangers scored a sum of 19 goals against five on five in their 13 games, which is 1.46 per. Only the Sabers at 1.36 per was worse.
If Quinn is considering giving more ice to players who ‘play better’, the time may not only be near, but it might have already arrived.