It feels like every year during the playoffs, some player who is not normally talked about garners the attention of the national media. Matt Belesky, Adam Henrique, Bryan Bickell, Nic Paul, and Tyler Johnson (thanks Garth and Ryan for the help) all had big playoff runs that resulted in them becoming bigger names. During this postseason, Vincent Trocheck has seemingly become the sweetheart of the hockey world.
Trocheck has always been a solid NHL player but has never established himself as and elite player. The 30-year-old has never had a point-per-game season during his 12 years in the NHL. He has carved out a nice role centering Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniére with the New York Rangers this season, and has 5 goals and 7 assists in the team’s first 8 games of the playoffs.
The Rangers lost their first game of the playoffs today against the Hurricanes, and this was the first contest of this postseason Trocheck didn’t record a point.
His biggest moments this postseason have shown his willingness to make a difficult play to let the stars around him shine. The clip below shows Trocheck take a hit to chip a puck into the zone, and then it results in a Rangers goal. Granted, he plays with so much emotion his celebration in the face of the Hurricanes player made the clip go viral.
This play just screams Alex Tuch in my mind. The willingness to make this play, but mainly the passion these two players have and play with is unmatched.
I know that a massive caveat of this whole blog is the Sabres actually making the playoffs next year. But I do believe in my heart of hearts it will finally happen.
Tuch reminds me so much of Trocheck in terms of how they are viewed in the general hockey community. Both are good NHL players but are not superstars. They are both players a lot of fans kind of forget about until they watch a game, and are reminded that they are good players.
Neither are the stars of their teams but both play massive roles in terms of their team’s success. If Alex Tuch is producing points, that means his linemates, Tage Thompson, and Jeff Skinner, are also scoring. For the Sabres to succeed they need these three to play their best.
Alex Tuch became a point-per-game player for the first time in his career in Buffalo last year. Obviously, Buffalo’s scoring dropped dramatically across the board this season. So, Tuch’s numbers weren’t where they were, but I have so much faith they will return to form under new head coach Lindy Ruff.
I am not a chart guy, but I am a vibes and eye test guy. There is something about Trocheck and Tuch that just makes so much sense to me. I know they are not the same exact player, but I know Alex Tuch can make the same impact Trocheck is making if Buffalo finally makes it to the postseason.
In last year’s postseason, Trocheck only had one point (1G) in seven games played. I know he’s not the sole reason for New York’s success this playoffs, but he is a massive part of it.
If Buffalo wants to finally end its 13-year playoff drought, they will need their top guys like Alex Tuch to take that next step forward. Tuch is one of the few players on this roster with playoff experience. This will only allow Tuch to help the others around him shine under the bright lights of the playoffs.