Skating Under Radar, Straka’s Making an Impact

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The New York Sun

One of the Rangers’ most important contributors this season — and last season, for that matter – has received little attention since his arrival on Broadway. Overshadowed by the likes of Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan, forward Martin Straka has managed to slip under the radar despite tallying 102 points in 106 games as a Ranger (including 26 points in 24 games this season).

But if his play over the past four games is any indication, the 34-year-old Straka won’t be an afterthought for much longer. Over the course of those games, Straka has tallied seven points (including four goals) while registering a very impressive plus-8 rating.

On Saturday night in Pittsburgh, the Rangers earned a hard-fought overtime victory over the Penguins, and it was Straka who was directly responsible for the win. When Pens phenom Evgeni Malkin rushed toward the Rangers’ zone on an apparent breakaway during the overtime session, Straka caught up to him in spectacular fashion and stole the puck cleanly.

With time quickly running out, Straka then hurried the puck up the ice — faking Penguins forward Nils Ekman out of his skates in the process — and into the offensive zone. A few tic-tac-toe passes later, he redirected Michal Rozsival’s cross-ice pass past Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Blueshirts the victory, with only three seconds remaining in overtime.

That play illustrated Straka’s value to the Rangers quite nicely; it highlighted both his defensive acumen and his boundless creativity with the puck. Not only did he neutralize one of the NHL’s most dynamic players in Malkin, but he turned the defensive gem into a high-quality scoring opportunity that ultimately gave the Rangers a muchneeded victory. For as the Blueshirts discovered last season when they were overtaken by the surging Devils in the final week, victories in October and November are critical. Because the games aren’t fraught with the same intensity level, they represent relatively easy opportunities to gain a foothold in the standings.

Throughout his career, Straka has been labeled as one-dimensional, offensively-gifted player, but one lacking the physical size to be a true impact NHLer. A plus-29 for his career when the Rangers acquired him, Straka had struggled badly in the three seasons preceding the lockout, compiling an atrocious minus-40 rating while tallying only 81 points in those three years. So when GM Glen Sather signed him prior to the 2005–06 season, it seemed like more of the same for the Rangers — yet another over-the-hill veteran taking valuable ice time away from a deserving youngster.

But Straka’s stay on Broadway has been anything but. Incredibly versatile, he has bounced from center to wing, and has regularly manned the point on the Rangers’ oft-fearsome power play. His speed makes him extremely dangerous during four-on-four situations, and the only time he remains pinned to the bench is when the Blueshirts are killing penalties. But that appears to be more a strategic decision by head coach Tom Renney — keeping Straka fresh for even-strength and power play opportunities — than it is a condemnation of his penalty-killing skills.

A look at Straka’s career numbers presents some very important reasons why Sather was right to sign the dynamic Czech winger. His only “minus” seasons came when he played for atrocious teams, such as the Senators and Islanders in 1995–96, the Mario-less post-Jagr Penguins, and the gutted 2003–04 Kings. Not surprisingly, his plus-minus rating has almost always mirrored the success of his team as a whole (see chart). In the seasons in which Straka’s team has won at least 45% of its games, he has compiled a very impressive combined plus-111 rating.

This season, Straka has shot the puck more frequently, averaging well over two shots a game and is on pace to set new career highs for goals (44) and shots on goal (195). He has only topped the 30-goal mark twice in his 15-season career, and has never cracked the 200-shot barrier. If the Rangers are to improve upon last season’s first-round ouster at the hands of the Devils, Straka will need to be a key contributor.

There are, of course, some reasons for concern with regard to Straka’s durability. While he certainly performed quite well for the Rangers in 2005–06, Straka wore down as the season progressed, tallying only 16 points in the final 24 games (along with a minus-1 rating). Even worse, he was held scoreless when the Rangers were swept by the Devils.

But this year, there are no Olympics to add to his workload — Straka won a bronze medal with the Czech team in Turin last February — and so it’s a good bet that he’ll still be at full capacity when the postseason approaches.

Perhaps even more importantly, the NHL’s new rule interpretations have made it far easier for Straka to survive the rigors of the regular season. No longer subjected to the clutching and grabbing that wore him down in the pre-lockout NHL, Straka is able to take full advantage of his speedy skating and dynamic playmaking. And it’s quite likely that he’ll be able to at least match the post-season form that enabled him to tally 40 points in 42 playoff games with the Penguins from 1998–99 to 2000-01.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.


The New York Sun

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