Vincent Trocheck made an immediate impact upon his return to the lineup on Monday night in the New York Rangers’ 6-3 win over the Nashville Predators.
Trocheck missed 14 games after suffering an upper-body injury on Oct. 9 against the Buffalo Sabres that landed him on long-term injured reserve.
Having Trocheck back helped balance the entire lineup for the Rangers. Mike Sullivan put Trocheck on a line with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafrenière, a trio that has had a ton of success in the past.
This allowed J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad to reunite on a line together alongside rookie forward Gabe Perreault.
The Rangers’ depth in their top-six forward group gave the team the flexibility to put Will Cuylle on the third line, which was critical in creating more balance.
“Any time you lose a guy to injury it just kind of screws up the whole lineup,” Trocheck said. “To be full health and have the lines that we want to have going forward, I think that goes a long way.”
He may have missed a handful of games, but it sure didn’t look that way by watching Trocheck play.
The 32-year-old forward did not miss a beat. He played the same hard-nosed brand of hockey that we’ve become accustomed to seeing from him.
On top of the two assists he recorded, Trocheck elevated Panarin and Lafrenière’s game, which helped bring new life to the Rangers’ offense.
“I think Trocheck is such a good player on both sides of the puck… I think maybe the biggest attribute that he has that probably flies under the radar is just how sound he is positioned,” Sullivan said.
“He’s in the right spots all the time, and because of that, he doesn’t chase the game. The game comes to him. He has a good stick. I think the guys on his flank, Bread and Laf, become the benefactors of that, because he creates a lot of counterattack opportunities in all three zones.”
The New York Rangers and the fanbase expect big things from Braden Schneider.
Maybe even far greater than what he provides on the ice, Trocheck is a leader for this Rangers team, and his presence goes a long way.
The leadership and energy that Trocheck provides for the Blueshirts off of the ice gave them a jolt of energy that was critical in helping them secure their first home win of the season.
“Obviously, Trocheck is such an important player for this team,” said Sullivan. “Just his presence alone, from a leadership standpoint, his demeanor, and then obviously, what he does on the ice. His presence alone, I think was a huge boost for the group, especially given the circumstances at home here.”
It’s safe to say the Rangers are happy to have Trocheck back.
The Atlanta Falcons are in the midst of a brutal four-game losing streak after dropping another heartbreaker in Berlin in Week 10. Their triumphant win over the Buffalo Bills feels like a distant memory at this point. Sitting at 3-6 through nine games played, the playoffs have quickly begun to slip from their grasp.
With the season beginning to fall away for an eighth consecutive year, there are certainly growing frustrations in Flowery Branch and questions that are certain to start coming up. Granted, laying the last decade of struggles at the feet of Raheem Morris would be unfair – he has only been the head coach in Atlanta for the last 26 games – there is a growing urgency for this team to find its winning stroke.
Through 10 weeks, Brian Daboll (Giants) and Brian Callahan (Titans) are the only head coaches to get the axe, but they are certainly not going to be the only ones by the time this season ends. Not including those two franchises, there are 10 other teams with three or fewer wins this year, including the Falcons.
After the issues the Falcons have had, Morris’s name has started to pop up on various ‘hot seat’ lists, including Matt Verderame’s with Sports Illustrated. Verderame lists four different NFL head coaches, ranked by how hot he feels their seats are.
First, he has the Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel with a ‘hot seat meter’ of eight, followed by the Browns’ Kevin Stefanski with a seven, then the Bengals’ Zac Taylor with a four, and finally, Morris with a three.
As for Morris, Verderame says the following:
“The Falcons have an elite receiver, an elite running back, another quality back and a solid pass rush. They also play in the NFC South. And yet, Atlanta is 3–6 and looking at another long year that ends without a first-round pick, having already dealt it to the Rams.
“Morris has now been a head coach for four-plus years, first with Tampa Bay and then with Atlanta, and has a career record of 32–54 with no playoff appearances. Owner Arthur Blank is typically patient, as evidenced by Arthur Smith going 7–10 in three consecutive seasons before being dismissed.
“The problem for Morris? He’s in the midst of his third season, and none of them are likely to end with a winning mark. It might be time for Blank to make another change, seeking the Falcons’ first postseason appearance since 2017.”
While some of this criticism is warranted, Verderame is also a little off-base with a few of his comments.
First, the Falcons have only played the Buccaneers and Panthers (on the road) in the NFC South. The Bucs have been one of the NFC’s best teams this season, so it’s not exactly a ‘bad loss’ like he insinuated. The Panthers are also sitting at 5-5, with four wins in their last six games.
Using the division the Falcons play in as ammunition at this point in the season is a bit disingenuous.
Second, the Falcons are in excellent shape after dealing their first-round pick for 2026. While unfortunate that the pick is trending towards the top of the class, they acquired both Xavier Watts and James Pearce Jr. from the deal, two outstanding rookies. If they had to do it over again, they likely would.
Furthermore, this would be a critique of general manager Terry Fontenot, not Morris.
Finally, Verderame incorrectly states that Morris is in his third season as head coach. Although he held an interim tag in 2020 after the franchise fired Dan Quinn, Morris was hired in 2024 to be the head coach.
Last season, his first in Atlanta, the Falcons finished 8-9, just outside of the playoffs. However, with playoffs as the stated goal, 2025 was expected to be the year they got over that hump. They have not been to the postseason since that 2017 season, and it does not appear they will snap that streak this year.
Whether that costs Raheem Morris his job remains to be seen.