Rangers' Trocheck Brings Spark in Return To Lineup

When New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck sustained an upper body injury in the team's second game of the season against the Buffalo Sabres on October 9, both the team and the fans knew that they would miss him.

What they did not know was just how much he would be missed. Without Trocheck, 32, the team's offense was stagnant, the lineup was not balanced, and the team was not hard to play against.

While the Blueshirts did what they could to manage things without him, they had trouble finding success on a consistent basis. Goals were hard to come by, Madison Square Garden was a house of horrors, and they were barely playing .500 hockey.

Things changed on Monday night, November 10, when Trocheck returned from injury against the Nashville Predators on home ice. Balance was restored to the lineup and more importantly, the team's offense came alive.

In his two games with the team since returning from injury, Trocheck has done a lot for the Rangers. For starters, he produced.

In his team's 6-3 victory over the Predators on Monday night, Trocheck had two assists. Two nights later in a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Benchmark International Arena, Trocheck scored two goals.

If you are counting at home, that is four points in two games. While that might not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, it does show that Trocheck is more than engaged when it comes to contributing offense to his hockey club.

Secondly, Trocheck has infused some toughness into the lineup. Against the Predators, he finished his checks, forechecked and backchecked hard, and even picked up four penalty minutes.

Trocheck played the same exact way against the Lightning. He made it hard for opposing forwards and defensemen to move the puck by being all over them in all three zones and he did so without taking a penalty.

He has also helped make his teammates better, especially when it comes to his linemates Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. With Trocheck back on the line, Panarin has six points (two goals and four assists) in two games while Lafreniere has four points (one goal and three assists) in two games.

Together, the line of Trocheck, Panarin, and Lafreniere have combined for 14 points since Trocheck returned from his injury. That is the kind of consistent offense that the team had been missing for close to a month.

After the team's win over the Predators on Monday night, Rangers' head coach Mike Sullivan told New York Post reporter Bridget Reilly how Trocheck is a big difference maker for his hockey club, especially for Lafreniere and Panarin.

[Trocheck’s] always in the right spots, you know, positionally and it’s subtle. So, it probably goes unnoticed to the casual eye,” he said. “If you comb through the game film like we do, there are so many instances where Troch gets a stick on a play, breaks up a play in the neutral zone, that may go unnoticed. What that does for Laf and Bread [Artemi Panarin], it provides them a counter-attack opportunity where they can get the puck with a little bit of separation.

“When they get in those instances, I think it allows Bread and Laf to play to their strengths, which I think is their ability to produce offense and see it and create off the rush when those opportunities present itself. I think Troch brings that element to their line. He’s a very solid defensive center-iceman. … I think the guys on his flanks, Bread and Laf, I think they become the benefactors of that because he creates a lot of counter attack opportunities in all three zones because of how sound his positioning is.

Lastly, Trocheck makes the team tougher to play against. The team feeds off of Trocheck's hustle and leadership on the ice and in turn, they follow his lead and play the same way.

Yes, it has only been two games, but there is no doubt that when Trocheck is in the lineup, the Rangers are a much more formidable hockey club. Now, the team needs to go on a run and show their fans and the rest of the league what they are really made of.