Vincent Trocheck is the Rangers’ do-it-all hero in the 2024 playoffs

Vincent Trocheck Counting the plates on his family’s dinner table in Pittsburgh.

Had chicken parmesan, rigatoni and arancini. There were meatballs, pasta plates with shrimp, scallops and chicken cutlets. There’s braciola, a meat roll rolled in tomato sauce.

The food is not just for his family, but also for his hockey family. Trocheck has made hosting an annual tradition New York Rangers teammates attend an Italian party during the season: an opportunity to mangiare (eat it all), as the Italians say, and a chance to bond.

“Eat a nice meal at home on the go,” he says. “I just think it’s good to have everyone together.”

Trocheck recently gathered everyone together, but in a corner of the rink at Madison Square Garden, passionately celebrating a goal.

After the goal doubled the gap in the second half against the team Carolina Storm, Trocheck was surrounded by every Ranger on the ice and those who had slid off the bench. The goal whistle sounded. New York fans are excited. Trocheck grins in a sea of ​​blue, a classic photo that instantly became fodder for the Art But Make It Sports social media account:

Mme Kupka among the verticals, by František Kupka, 1910-11, 📸 by @themooneyshot https://t.co/9xjofXmK2P pic.twitter.com/l12vTqB3VA

– ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) May 8, 2024

“When they go into overtime or double overtime, anyone can win those games,” Trocheck said. “Anything can happen.”

What happened in Game 2 has happened often this season: The Rangers scored on the power play. Like they did to tie the game to one Chris Kreider third period goal — Trocheck assisted on that goal.

“I think we really expected to score,” Trocheck said of their power play. We felt like as a unit, the team relied on us to score on the power play,” Trocheck said of their power play, which hit 34.5 percent. “Special teams has been huge so far in the playoffs. We’re relied on a lot and there’s a lot of pressure in there. We have this confidence, this tempo. We just want to keep going.” keep doing the same things, keep this up.” walking.”

The Rangers won the game 4-3 in part because the Hurricanes lacked confidence in their power play, going 0-for-5 in 6:53 with the man advantage. Trocheck was on the ice for 4:16 of that penalty, more than any other forward in New York.

If this Rangers season were a family meal, Trocheck would be the one setting the place, stirring the meatballs, pouring everyone’s drinks and parking the cars.

In a season where the Rangers are closing in on their first Stanley Cup championship in 30 years, Vincent Trocheck is doing it all.

“He touches every part of the game,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “All year long, he’s been a guy to rely on in a lot of situations, on both sides of the game.”

THIS REGULAR SEASON Trocheck averages 21:27 of ice time per game, with 3:29 on the power play and 1:35 on the penalty kill. In seven playoff games, he averaged 23:59, with 4:19 spent on power and 3:36 on takedowns.

He ranked second in the Rangers behind his classmate Artemi Panarin in the regular season with 77 points (25 goals, 52 assists) in 82 games. Through seven playoff games, he was tied with Mika Zibanejad with 12 points in seven games (five goals, seven assists). That includes four points of even strength, seven points of power, and one point of short hand.

While many thought the Rangers’ even-strength play would be a burden against the Hurricanes, Trocheck said that was not a concern.

“I don’t think anyone thought we had to score 5-on-5. If we win 4-0 and it’s two power-play goals and two short-handed goals, no one cares . We just need to score,” he said. “We just try to win games any way we can.”

It’s clear that Laviolette believes that one of the most effective ways to win playoff games is to use a lot of Vincent Trocheck. No Rangers skater has played more in their first seven games.

“It’s the playoffs now,” Laviolette said. You have games that go into extra time, but his role doesn’t change. He was a part of every part of the game.” “I’m teleporting him twice just to get him back into the faceoff circle. Power play, penalty kill, 5-on-5 play. He just kept answering the bell. It was remarkable. He was involved. You can see it in his attitude and the way he plays the game.”

This could be Trocheck’s best season in the NHL. Partly thanks to his incredible relationship with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. No trio in the league has played more together than them (864 minutes). According to Evolve Hockey, Trocheck’s team is averaging 3.76 goals per 60 minutes while allowing 2.27 goals per 60 minutes. They have an expected goals rate of 54.9% at 5-on-5.

“Having chemistry with the guys is important,” Trocheck said. “Having that continuity is also important.”

In Game 3 against the Hurricanes on Thursday night, Panarin scored the overtime goal off a deflected pass from Trocheck, who received the puck from Lafrenière.

“It was a great match for all three of them,” Laviolette said. They were able to do it successfully, take the ball in from the corner.” “Troch played very well and Artemi had a great finish.”

It was the second goal created of the game, as Lafreniere scored his third of the playoff game earlier in the third period to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

THE PREFERENCE OF That line helped Panarin (49 goals, 120 points) and Lafreniere (28 goals, 57 points) achieve new career highs in the regular season. Trocheck had his second best scoring season and set a new career best with 77 points, the most scoring season of his 11-year career.

He attended the NHL All-Star Game for the second time, bringing his hockey-obsessed 5-year-old son Leo to Toronto. “I was so excited for him to experience that,” Trocheck said.

Trocheck’s career began in Florida in 2013-14, but it was his second NHL destination that was recently mentioned. He played three seasons with the Hurricanes before signing a seven-year, $39.375 million free agent contract with the Rangers in 2022.

Former Hurricanes center Derek Stepan played with Trocheck during the 2021-22 season and he’s not surprised that Trocheck has found another level with the Rangers.

“He did a lot of things right,” Stepan said. “He’s good at it [faceoff] dots. He can create space for his teammates offensively. He can score. Defensively, he was responsible in almost every situation. So he’s just a complete player and he’s one of those guys that you need in your team.”

There are more than a dozen players on the current Hurricanes squad who have played with Trocheck, including in a tense seven-game second-round loss to the Rangers in 2022. But Trocheck said it was emotional to face his former teammates. him in the playoff series doesn’t affect him.

“It was a playoff series that we needed to get through to achieve our goal of winning the Stanley Cup,” Trocheck said. “I mean, I’ve played against these guys a lot. Playing against old teammates is nothing new. In this league, you move from one team to another. It’s just a series of matches.” other.”

Laviolette, who won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006, consulted with Trocheck before the series for some information about the Hurricanes. But Rod Brind’Amour, Trocheck’s former coach, said he did not design any game plan to handle Trocheck despite knowing his tendencies from the Hurricanes days.

“He’s been a great player for us. We want to keep him. This is not an exchange or anything like that. It’s just business,” Brind’Amour said. . “Obviously he’s been a great player for them. That’s not shocking. We know that. They’ve got a good player.”

A good one on and off the ice. Stepan wasn’t surprised to learn how involved Trocheck was with the Rangers behind the scenes, from the locker room to the dinner table in Pittsburgh. He knows that guy in Carolina. He knows what he can become in New York.

“He was a great guy,” Stepan said. Likes to go out, likes to have fun. He understands that you can’t take the game too seriously.” “He could joke around with anyone and everyone. He worked hard to be a good teammate to all his guys.”

Stepan stopped for a moment. “I know I’m blowing a lot of smoke into his rear end, but he’s really all that. I’m really happy for him.”