#21's #s: 82 games, 21 goals, 24 assists, +8, 20 PIM (5 playoff games, no goals, no assists, -5, 2 PIM).

Take the bad: There's a wall and Step hit it - at least we have to hope that was the issue and not the situation - the kid didn't get a single point in the playoffs and was -1 in every single game ... then again he played four minutes per game than he did in the regular season. He tried to do too much too often and was marginalized by stronger, more experienced defenders. After opening with a much-publicised hat trick, Step went on an 18 game drought. He averaged more than two minutes of power play time per game and had just 10 points with the man advantage.
Take them both and then we have: One of the building blocks for the new era of the Blueshirts. Stepan epitomizes the kind of leadership and character that Gordie Clark has targeted in recent drafts - you can easily see him wearing a letter someday. He is willing to pay the price to make the play and has great timing and good patience but he needs to stay involved and keep learning. Stepan needs to pick up the tricks of the game, especially those in the faceoff circle - 38.5% this year was simply awful. He showed great chemistry with Zuccarello (if only the Norge kid would shoot the damned puck occasionally) and a strong, veteran power winger could really complete a dangerous second line.
2 comments:
You hit the nail right on the head -- his faceoffs was what stuck out to me the most. The Rangers haven't had a great faceoff guy in a while, but Stepan has to learn from somewhere. Perhaps Messier can do some work with him and the other forwards during the offseason. Or maybe Sean Avery can teach him a thing or 2, since he led the team in faceoff winning percentage ...
I would put in the bad MSG did not show off his mom enough
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