Rangers call up Brett Berard after disappointing road trip

The Rangers had already been sleeping at home for a relatively long time when Brett Berard was announced healthy before the AHL Wolf Pack’s 4 p.m. Sunday game against the Bridgeport Islanders in Hartford, Connecticut.

In fact, the 22-year-old was on his way to New York for his first official appearance for the Rangers after the university club’s four-game trip came to a worrying end.

It looks like the Blueshirts will turn to their AHL affiliate’s leading scorer to deliver a shock to the system.

The Rangers probably wouldn’t recall Berard unless they had any intention of using him. Just like they wouldn’t have sent Victor Mancini across the country if he hadn’t replaced the injured Zac Jones on Saturday night against the Oilers.

Incidentally, Mancini was brought back to Hartford along with Chad Ruhwedel in a later move. It’s a good sign for Jones, but flying Mancini out for just one game rather than playing Ruhwedel, who was already on the trip, was a crucial decision – especially if they wanted to bring Mancini back the next day.

This was all very indicative of head coach Peter Laviolette’s assessment of his blue line.

Berard could make his NHL debut on Monday night against the Blues at Madison Square Garden.

Laviolette is likely trying to give his team a boost while the Rangers have had a month of mediocre performances, making it quite difficult to accurately predict how they will perform compared to the rest of the NHL.

They will win games they have no business being in, like the 4-0 win over Detroit.

A single period of play can prove to be a disadvantage against any opponent, such as the middle frame in the 6-1 loss to the Sabres.

The power play ranked 10th in the NHL at the end of this road trip, a poor mark for a group that has consistently held the top spots for several seasons.

Most nights only one line can maintain zone time. Against teams that excel in this area, defending the rush has become a weakness.

The Rangers had a chance to feel really good after this road trip.

Instead, the focus is on regrouping ahead of the final two games – home against the Blues and away against the Hurricanes – before Thanksgiving.

“The last two games are tough, I think it started well,” Adam Fox said after the Rangers’ 6-2 loss in Edmonton. “We just kind of lost our way, I think. Those starts just aren’t going to be enough — especially against a team like (the Oilers). You go down early and you start to push, you start to pinch a little bit more, you start to stay in and try to fight back against some people who are going to punish you.

“It was good to get the first two wins but the last two games were really disappointing. I have a home game (on Monday against the Blues) to regroup and definitely figure some things out and get a good bounce back.”

The Rangers were 3-0 overall in the last two first periods and were outscored 41-14.

For a team for which offense is the best defense — a club built to be that way — the Rangers have had no killer instinct of late. They had a lot of trouble recovering the puck, a testament to their unique opportunities in the offensive zone and repeated losses in puck battles.

It will be interesting to see how long the Rangers have on the leash under Laviolette if they continue to trend in this direction.

Laviolette certainly has options with his power play units. The same goes for his defensive pairings.

The expected return of Chytil should buy the ranks a little more time, especially since the Czech center’s unit with Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko was arguably their best.

A 12-6-1 plate doesn’t feel as good as it looks. After Saturday’s loss, the Rangers sounded like a team that knows they can be happy with it.

“Urgency,” Vincent Trocheck said of what he attributes the Rangers’ slow starts to. “We’ve been fortunate to have (Shesterkin and Quick) behind us so far this season. We let them dry early.”