The
Rangers effort in the opening series against Ottawa has been anything
but consistent. There is, however, one very steady theme
emerging from the last four games: Brian Boyle is now a man. Check
that--he is now THE man.
I'm not
sure where and when, but at some point late this
season, it seemed like an idea took hold in the mind of Brian Boyle. A simple
idea, a formula if you will, that burned a vision in his brain of how
he could begin making an impact again on the offensive end.
Go to the
net. Park your 6'7'', 244lbs. frame in front of the
goaltender. Wait for a rebound. Light up the lamp.
It's a
concept that worked for Mark Messier and Adam Graves, and it's a concept that Boyle has
dedicated himself to over the last month. The results
have been Grave-esque.
 |
| Boyle and teammate Dan Girardi celebrate his third goal |
To say that
this discovery and Boyle's subsequent resurgence could not have
come at a better time for the Rangers would be the season's biggest
understatement. Putting it plainly, Boyle is the main reason
that New York is tied at two games in this first-round series with two overtime
losses and not down 3-1 with three losses in regulation. He's
earning it for his team and making the Senators earn theirs the hard
way.
“I’m
just trying to contribute in all facets and playing some good
minutes," he humbly assessed after Game 3. "Do the physical
stuff, playing defensively sound, killing penalties and contributing
offensively. Those are all responsibilities when you get to play
those minutes and you have the opportunity to do that."
Not
Gaborik, not Richards, not Callahan. But Brian
Boyle. Brian Boyle has been doing it all, stealing the show (or
better, prolonging the show) in this young postseason.
I'm
still having trouble processing it myself.
Allow me to
place his sudden spark of stardom in context by reviewing Mr. Boyle's
history with the team:
2009-10
season: In his debut season, the Boston University product is
relegated to a limited role on the fourth and checking lines.
Essentially, he is a big, bumbling oaf on the ice. Despite
his massive size, he displays no instinctual knowledge of how to use
it his positional and physical advantage. Boyle's line reads 4
goals, 2 assists, and a -6 rating in 71 games.
2010-11
season: From clumsy buffoon to graceful giant, Boyle shocks the
Rangers community in his second year with a 21-goal, 14-assist
campaign. The once ogreish centerman displays agility, power,
and a sureness on his skates that was entirely absent in the previous
season. His secret? An offseason with figure skater and
power-skating specialist Barbara Underhill.
For as much
as Barb does for Boyle's bladework, she does little to inspire him to
take the body with authority. He forechecks harder this season,
but still shies away from violent contact--compared to a guy like
Ryan Callahan, Boyle is a pacifist. This frustrates certain
fans (and one blogger specifically) to no end.
2011-12
season: Boyle continues to provide valuable forechecking and
penalty killing services, yet remains tentative when it comes to
asserting his hulking physical presence in a forceful fashion.
Offensively though, there is a noticeable decline in
production: through the first 73 games of the season, he scores just
six times.
But
then...the aforementioned light bulb goes off. He becomes a
fixture in between the circles and in front of the crease, and he
unloads for 5 goals in 9 games. This hot streak carries over
into the playoffs, which brings us back to present times.
The really impressive part about all this is that Boyle's meteoric rise
into the stratosphere has persevered through, if not been
propelled by, a direct and hostile challenge from the Ottawa
Senators. In the opening game of the series, Boyle and
Senator's prized young defenseman Erik Karlsson had an unfriendly
exchange during which Boyle took several jabs in the direction of
Karlsson's face.
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| Linesman attempt to untangle a melee in Game 2, sparked when Matt Carkner pounced on an unguarded Boyle and began pounding him. Clearly, he's gotten under Ottawa's skin. |
Ottawa
didn't take to kindly to that gesture, as evidenced when in Game 2,
Boyle was literally assaulted by defenseman Matt Carkner. We're
talking jumped-in-a-dark-alley-in-the-South-Bronx,
kick-him-while-he's-down kind of beating here. Carkner received
a game misconduct and a suspension for his actions while Boyle
skated away with a mere black eye.
Did this
deter the battered Ranger? Did he revert back into that shell
of temerity, that gentle giant attitude?
No, no he
did not. In fact, Brian Boyle did the exact opposite. He
accepted his assignment as postseason villain and, what's more, he
embraced it, wearing that black eye with pride and purpose.
“Honestly,
it was a surprise,” Boyle
said. “But
if I’m the villain to them, that’s good.”
For
the first time in his Rangers career, Boyle is recognizing what he
has the potential to be, both in terms of his offensive capacity and
in terms of his capacity to inflict physical and emotional damage to
opposing players. He has indeed become a man, one that I have
ceased to hate (despite his lack of ability to win a faceoff, his one
flaw) and learned to respect.
Now
what the Rangers need is someone else to step it up in a big way as
Mr. Boyle has done, else they may be heading for a very disappointing
first-round exit.
“A lot of us
can start following [Boyle's] lead," said head coach John Tortorella. "That’s what he’s doing now,
leading."
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