There was a reason that the Rangers prioritized Vladimir Tarasenko when seeking to fill a top-six hole on the right side and were willing to sacrifice a first-rounder in order to acquire the wing from St. Louis by jumping the market three weeks before the trade deadline.
The problem is, you wouldn’t know it by reviewing the way the club has utilized the 31-year-old through the first five games of the Battle of the Hudson. It is as if, upon the acquisition of Patrick Kane 18 days later, Tarasenko became kind of an afterthought.
Get this: Tarasenko, a prime force in the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup championship, is seventh among Rangers forwards in both overall ice time and power-play ice time. The 11:46 he got in Game 1 represented the second-lowest ice time he has had in 95 career playoff games, getting less only in his NHL postseason debut as a rookie in 2013.
Games 1, 2 and 5 were three of the eight playoff games in which Tarasenko has gotten the least amount of ice time over his career. It is impossible to believe that was the plan when general manager Chris Drury acquired him.
Now, with the Rangers facing first-round extinction Saturday in Game 6 against a ravenous Devils squad that is bursting with confidence, it is imperative that head coach Gerard Gallant find a way to get Tarasenko more ice time, both at five-on-five and on the power play.
“I’ve been saying that to the [assistant coaches] the whole time,” Gallant said following a brisk practice Friday. “The power play, he’s played the second unit …
“I’d like to see him play more but I also want guys to take it, you know what I mean? When you get the opportunities, make me play you more, and I’m not trying to jab [Tarasenko] because he’s been good, but I want guys who go out there and say, ‘Make me play 18 minutes, make me play 20 minutes.’ ”
Tarasenko is averaging 15:04 per game overall and 2:02 with the man advantage, the latter just under half of what Kane has commanded on the first power-play unit. The 15:04 is 3:04 under Tarasenko’s playoff career average with St. Louis.
“I have to find a way to score goals and create goals. I don’t think I’ve been good enough,” he told The Post. “But that is the past. There’s no need to talk about that.
“All that matters is how we play going forward. Our season is on the line. We have to be at our best. That’s what counts.”
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There is an indication that Tarasenko will be awarded a greater role for Game 6. Gallant has shuffled his top three lines, moving him up the right side with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider to reconstitute the unit that was in place for nine games in the weeks after the trade was made. Kane has been shifted to the second unit centered by Vincent Trocheck that will have — surprise, surprise — Alexis Lafreniere on left wing, while Artemi Panarin will skate with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko.
Gallant said that he is making moves for strategic and matchup reasons and to give the club a spark that has been missing since Game 2 at New Jersey.
“There was not enough spark the last three games, but I don’t think changing lines will be the spark,” said Tarasenko, who recorded 21 points (8-13) in 31 games for the Rangers during the regular season. “There are way bigger goals to spark you.
“It does not matter what line you are on. Our job is to go out and play.”
The Rangers did not practice their power play in plain sight on Friday, but Gallant dropped hints that personnel alterations are expected on the man-advantage after the team went 0-for-10 the last three contests. Tarasenko all but surely will move up to PP1 — in place of either Kane or Panarin — and he should provide more of an inside presence who can aid possession and create traffic in front of emerging folk hero goalie Akira Schmid. He can snap it, too.
But the Rangers shouldn’t stop there. Blasphemy alert, but the Blueshirts need to replace Adam Fox with either Jacob Trouba or K’Andre Miller to provide a shooting threat from the top. Fox is a marvelous player whose creativity and vision are properly renowned, but the shot is the one tool missing from his arsenal. Strength as a weakness.
Fox has launched just four attempts with three on net in 20:28 of power play time. Trouba has the big boomer from the back, but Gallant and, uh, key power play assistant Mike Kelly should give serious consideration to awarding Miller with the assignment.
The offensive component of Miller’s game has essentially been absent through the series in which his focus has been on defensive positioning and puck management. He has been fine back there. But avoiding mistakes can’t be the sole mission. Miller has a shot. He’s never been afraid to take it. The staff should give him a shot.
The Rangers need to change the dynamic the way the Devils did following Game 2. Gallant needs to change the dynamic. There is no time to dally. Getting Tarasenko more minutes and shaking up the power play would represent a start.
