All this talk of the Rangers not doing as good as last year because they lost Prust is really disingenuous. He was a key part of their team, but the Rangers also sacrificed Anisimov and Dubinsky for Rick Nash (who has injured for a bit).
The Rangers greatest asset last year was its shutdown ability, they were such a great defensive team. Prust, Anisimov and Dubinsky were a huge part of that shutdown capabilty, all three are excellent two-way players. The Rangers did not replace this in the off-season and it's the biggest reason why they regressed from last year. Guys like Anisimov, Dubinsky, Prust allowed offensive players like Richards, Callahan Gaborik, Hagelin and Stepan to do their thing as the former three carried the lion's share of the defensive load along with Boyle. Funnily enough they replaced Prust, Anisimov and Dubinsky with Taylor Pyatt, Aaron Asham and Jeff Halpern who are all lesser two-way players. That is the biggest difference with the rangers. The Rangers recognized the loss of key-two way players, hence why they tried to replace them with lesser quality two-ways guys..
Never underestimate the contributions of two-way players. It's actually part of the reason why we are successful this year. Two-way players help with possession and Eller, Prust, Moen, Gionta and Plekanec are all key players in that part of our game this year.
