Somewhere around the middle of last season, or the end, Rangers fans started booing Marek Malik. For awhile, I actually agreed with these fans. I mean the guys 6'6", doesn't hit, is amazingly slow, and had an odd knock for goals going into our own net off of his stick. But, when you analyze his play more, he really does not deserve the harsh treatment he's been getting.
In his last 4 seasons, Malik has a combined plus/minus of +118. For two of those seasons, Malik was a member of the Rangers. During those two seasons Malik went +60. Now, while I think plus/minus is a somewhat bogus stat, to play down a +118 is like playing down the fact that a guy scored 40 goals because he had 25 minutes of ice time a game. Either way, he still scored 40 goals. And, either way, Malik has somehow managed to be on the ice for A LOT more goals for than goals against.
Now if you're a Ranger fan (one that hates Malik) you're probably thinking to yourself, 'Well being on Jagr's favored defensive pair sure helped him'. Somewhat true. But you've got to give the guy credit. Take a look at this website:
Malik's stats there do all the talking. Look at Rank #19 and then #161, Malik's defensive partner. Now, for most of the year, these two were on the same line. Malik was injured though, and missed 13 games. I can't say whether most of that differential comes from that 13 game differential or not, but it's likely that a decent amount of it did. Malik, with the help of Roszival, created the Rangers best defensive pair last year. Sure the occaisonal goal DID deflect off of his stick into the net, but he was easily the most steady defenseman.
This year, on opening night, when announcing the rosters, Marek Malik's name was met with a harsh chorus of "Boo's". He went on to record 3 assists. He received a decent amount of cheers when announced as a star of the game, which made me think that maybe, just maybe, Ranger fans would come around. But it was not to be. This time it actually was his fault. He played bad enough to receive a benching from Tom Renney. Since back though, he's played fantastically. In 5 games the only goal against he's been on the ice for was the Penguins powerplay goal where he kept Malkin's stick from moving in the slightest but Whitney's pass had so much power that it just deflected off of it and in. Malkin himself said that Lundqvist should have stopped that shot and that Malik defended him perfectly. He was also on, if you can count it, for Lecavalier's penalty shot goal as the victim of the "hook" that led to the penalty shot.
Earlier I mentioned the small facts that the guy is 6'6", doesn't hit, is very slow, and has the odd knack for having pucks go in the wrong net off of his own stick. The latter can't be helped. But, what he lacks in hitting ability and speed, he makes up for with great positioning. And while it looks like he's lumbering along with that big 6'6" frame, he's really not. But the more fickle Ranger fans look at Malik and think that he should be crushing people into the boards with his size. When he doesn't, booing seems to ensue.
Yet the boo's still rain on, and I'm at a loss as for why. Is it because Ranger fans are so bitter that they need to hate at least one member of their team at all times? When this poor guy makes a mistake, Ranger fans catch it and boo the guy mercilessly for it. When, say, Marc Staal makes a mistake, they just gloss right over it. I've always thought Ranger fans were fairly intelligent, but when I hear fans telling Malik to "get off the ice and go kill himself" I seriously start to question this assessment. I've always been of the idea that, as a fan, you should cheer your team, the entire team, regardless of like or dislike. It honestly disgusts me to be a Ranger fan when I hear boos, or worse yet people telling Malik to kill himself whenever he has possession of the puck.
I should probably start talking about things other than the Rangers, but sometimes Ranger fans really do annoy me.
For a team picked by many to participate in the Stanley Cup in the summer of '08, the Rangers sure have started slowly. They remain the only team in the NHL to average less than 2 goals per game at this point, behind even the lowly Phoenix Coyotes and Atlanta Thrashers. What's the deal? Shouldn't the offense have improved with the summer acquisitions of Chris Drury and Scott Gomez? After all they only lost Michael Nylander. Here's what I think is wrong..
1) The Powerplay: Now don't get me wrong. I think that Tom Renney is a great coach. 2 years after the lockout and he has brought the Rangers to the 1st round of the playoffs, and then the 2nd. That said, I have no idea what is running through his mind with his choices of powerplay units. The formation: Shanahan - Gomez - Jagr with Drury and Roszival on the point. The idea here is to get the puck to Drury so he can take a shot. There are a few fatal flaws here though. One is that there is no one to screen the goalie or get rebounds when these shots get on net. One look at Tomas Holmstrom and you'll see why this is so important. Second, Chris Drury has made a career of scoring goals near the net. Why move a guy who can get those rebounds and screen the goalie away from the front? You're only making the goalies job easier. Drury, Prucha, Avery and to an extent Shanahan don't mind standing in front of the goalie and making his life difficult so play to this fact instead of ignoring this. The Rangers also have players with great shots from the point. Mara, Roszival, Jagr, and Shanahan can all take shots from the point that would make any goaltenders life difficult. You've got to score dirty and pretty goals if you're going to win in the NHL.
2) The Spark Plug has been missing. Hate the guy all you want, but Sean Avery brings a spark to the Rangers team that no one else can offer. His acquisition had a direct impact on the Rangers turning around their season, making the playoffs, and nearly beating the Sabres in the second round. Sean Avery just brings that extra something to the game that makes his teammates around him better (as long as he's not arguing with them!) His imminent return either this Thursday or Saturday will be huge.
3) Lack of any offensive defenseman. Coming into this season everyone thought the Rangers defense would be its biggest problem. They were right - in a way. Defensively, as they were last year with almost the exact same cast, the Rangers are very stellar. They've given up an average of 2 goals per game, and I can give a few instances where the opponents goals were completely undeserved (such as the Lecalvier "penalty shot" last night). I, along with most Ranger fans, knew that our defense would not be a problem as long as Tom Renney is behind the bench. In terms of helping the offense however, the defensive corps have been useless. Roszival has looked horrible. Mara has been non-existent. Tyutin, while great defensively, will never have that offensive touch. Malik, who is hated by Ranger fans undeservedly, has not been as great with his outlet passes as he used to be. His vision compared to most Ranger defenseman this year, however, has been good. In the offensive zone the Ranger's forwards have been working by themselves though. Lack of support in the offensive zone makes creating opportunities in said zone difficult.
4) They are simply pressing too much at this point. Nothing is going their way so you can kind of see why they would be pressing. The current players have to deal with the fact that they haven't been scoring and the fact that 3 wingers who can are out of the lineup.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Rangers will pick up their goal scoring. They have so much talent and a disciplined coach who knows how to win. It will come but, for now, to be a Rangers fan is pretty dreadful.
