The New York Rangers announced on Wednesday that rookie defenseman Victor Mancini has been sent to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, and veteran defenseman Chad Ruhwedel has been recalled from Hartford.
This is probably for the best, in Mancini’s case. The 22-year-old rookie has played reasonably well and has earned his ice time with the Rangers, but he’s been a healthy scratch for the last four games — coach Peter Laviolette has elected to dress 24-year-old Zac Jones, who has a bit more NHL experience.
Mancini, a first-year pro, figures to be better served playing top-four minutes in Hartford, where he can continue to develop his game. When the time comes, and it surely will, he’ll be ready to step back into the lineup and continue making an impact with the Rangers.
Mancini has four points (one goal. three assists) and a plus-4 rating in 11 games this season. However, the Rangers were often out-chanced when he was on the ice. Per Natural Stat Trick, they was out-chanced 97-49, including 45-18 on high-danger chances during his time on ice.
Jones has provided a more steady game for the Rangers, and has arguably been one of their best players of late. He has four assists in nine games played, as well as an impressive plus-9 rating that’s tied for fourth-best on the team. In terms of scoring chances, Jones is an even 63-63, and in high-danger situations, has a slight edge at 27-24.
Swapping Mancini for Ruhwedel makes sense, as he will likely serve as the seventh defenseman in most cases. However, with the Rangers struggling as of late, don’t be surprised if Ruhwedel makes his way into the lineup at some point. He’s played in one game with the Rangers this season, a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 19. While he didn’t record a point, he was plus-2 and logged 15:08 TOI on the third defense pair.
The Rangers have played .500 hockey (4-4-0) in their past eight games, and after Tuesday night’s 6-3 home loss to the Winnipeg Jets, Laviolette is looking for answers with his defense parings. At practice Wednesday, he went back to a top pairing of K’Andre Miller and Adam Fox. They had started the season together but were split up. The other pairs were Lindgren with Jacob Trouba, and Jones with Braden Schneider.
If things don’t turn around for the Rangers, Laviolette may turn to Ruhwedel for help — or he’ll continue to adjust the pairings until something clicks. The pairs seen at practice Wednesday will get a chance to earn a much-needed win Thursday when the Rangers welcome the San Jose Sharks, who are 28th in the overall standings, and former teammate Barclay Goodrow to Madison Square Garden.
