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"Blueline Blast"

NJ • 29 Years Old • Male

Marc Staal gets a little credit, but still no PP time

In a recent blog post, James Mirtle used a formula to determine rankings for NHL defensemen. I'm not going to pretend like I understand it. It's not that I don't appreciate statistical analyses when it comes to hockey - it just takes me several reads to understand that the combination of something I love (hockey) and something I hated (math) can actually work. Anyway, I digress.

According to Mirtle, "it's the 'other' Staal brother leading the way. He's another youngster who has had a whale of a start; the Rangers would be sunk without him on the back end given how some of their veterans have struggled."

I have been saying this since last season when I started watching Marc Staal on a regular basis. The kid has a world of talent when it comes to playing the man and has teased us with brief flashes of offensive brilliance. Not only is he capable of the end to end rush, he holds the blue line very well and does a good job hitting the net from the point.

Which leads us to today's head scratching moment: why doesn't Tom Renney use Staal on the point of the league's 24th ranked power play?

The Rangers have been struggling with the man advantage for well over a year now. Staal has excelled at nearly every challenge he's been faced with in the NHL. Give the kid a shot!

Dimitri Kalinin can use the extra time on the pine.

source: http://www.fromtherink.co...-rod-langway-award-update