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NHL coach on Rangers’ Staal: “I haven’t seen signs he’s getting better”

New York Rangers v Atlanta Thrashers

ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 11: Marc Staal #18 of the New York Rangers reacts after being called for a penalty against the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena on February 11, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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Over at ESPN, Craig Custance continued his preview series of playoff-bound teams with an interesting piece on the New York Rangers -- specifically, the analysis of defenseman Marc Staal.

From ESPN (Insider):

Depth on defense is a bit of a concern for the Rangers, and there’s a big difference if Staal is playing like a bottom-pair defenseman rather than a guy capable of playing on the top pair. “He’s gone, for me, from a Norris trophy candidate to a guy playing in the five- or six-hole, and he looks like it,” one coach said. “If he can get anywhere near that level, it’d change things ... but I haven’t seen signs he’s getting better.”

Our scout isn’t quite as concerned. “He’s not great but certainly plays well within reason. He’s better than most at operating at 80 percent,” he said. “I think he’ll be able to take his game to a very good level. I’m not so much worried about him as I would be injuries [on defense] in general.”

By the numbers, Staal’s a fourth defenseman rather than a fifth/sixth -- he’s fourth amongst all Rangers blueliners in time on ice per game (19:44), shifts per game (23.5) and shorthanded minutes per game (1:37).

Regardless, it’s a far cry from his role of last season, when he averaged over 25 minutes a game in the regular season before getting bumped to 28:01 per night in a five-game playoff loss to the Capitals.

As for this year, Staal missed the first 36 games dealing with the effects of a concussion suffered last February. While he has seen more ice time recently -- there were three games in March where Staal played over 24 minutes -- one wonders if he’s still out of sorts after missing what amounted to half the regular season.

One final note: Come playoff time, it’ll be interesting to see if Tortorella ever goes back to last year’s dynamic shutdown pairing of Staal and Dan Girardi. The two were often used to neutralize the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby but, with Girardi averaging over 26 minutes and night and now flourishing with partner Ryan McDonagh, it would be hard for Staal to get back in that mix.