Rangers Fall 6-1 To Hurricanes, Call Up Brennan Othmann

The Rangers fell 6-1 to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. With a chance to extend their Metro Division lead to nine points, New York was outplayed – especially on special teams – and saw the gap narrow to five points. The Blueshirts do have two games in hand, but that is little solace after the end result on Tuesday.

Carolina rode two power plays goals in the first period to a 2-0 lead. In both of the first two frames, they shut down New York’s league-leading power play to head into the final stanza up 3-1. The Hurricanes put their collective feet on the neck of the Rangers, scoring all three goals in the third period.

When the PP is not operating at peak efficiency, the team has struggled. At even-strength, New York is not the same team. The bottom six, beyond Will Cuylle and Jimmy Vesey, has failed to contribute offensively, impacted somewhat by the absence of Filip Chytil. Even the top six have had their difficulties, part of which was due to Kaapo Kakko’s inability to score.

In an effort to provide more balance and 5×5 scoring, the Rangers made a roster move Wednesday. Part of that was aided by the injury to Tyler Pitlick that will sideline him week-to-week. But that might have just provided the final impetus for New York to call up Brennan Othmann, their 2021 first-round pick.

Othmann, who has nine goals and 14 assists in 28 games for the Wolf Pack, has not scored in nine straight games, so the timing of the promotion is interesting. That said, he provides New York with a physical winger who can play anywhere in the top nine. Othmann was skating on the top line in Hartford but may fit better on the third trio for the Blueshirts.

With Pitlick sidelined, coach Peter Laviolette could make his transition easier by just utilizing Othmann as his replacement on the fourth line, or they could drop Nick Bonino – the current third-line center – into that spot and play Othmann on the third line. He would be joined by a pair of familiar faces in Cuylle and Jonny Brodzinski. Othmann played with Cuylle for Team Canada in the 2022 World Junior Championships – as he did with Connor Bedard of the Blackhawks, New York’s opponent Thursday – and spent time playing with Brodzinski as teammates with Hartford earlier this season. One caveat is that both Cuylle and Othmann are natural left-wingers, and where Othmann has exclusively played in the AHL, but both have expressed a willingness to try the right side. For both to play together, one will have to move to their off-side wing.

If Laviolette really wanted to shake things up, he could use Othmann – who turns 21 on Friday – on the first line, shifting Blake Wheeler down to the third line. Laviolette likes deploying players where they have been skating prior to their promotion, but this would be a stretch for Othmann. Not only would he be sliding onto the first line in the NHL, he also would be doing so on his off-side since Chris Kreider is locked in at left wing.

The Othmann era is beginning at MSG.