The New York Rangers are off to a 3-2-0 start in their first five games. Thus far they have alternated between good games and bad games, looking dominant for stretches but also making some sloppy mistakes. Their two losses came against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who were missing a couple of key players, and the Nashville Predators. They need to consistently defend well, come through on special teams, and avoid extended lulls.
Rangers’ Defensive Play
During the Rangers’ season opener on Oct. 12, they defended very well against the Buffalo Sabres who averaged 3.57 goals scored per game last season, the third most in the NHL. Alexis Lafreniere and Chris Kreider scored the first two goals of the season in the first period. They never gave up the lead and cruised to a 5-1 victory. Their top-four defensemen and the top line did an excellent job defending against Tage Thompson, and star goalie Igor Shesterkin came up with a few timely saves.
In their next game, the Rangers struggled defensively against the Blue Jackets on Oct. 14. Erik Gustafsson gave them an early 1-0 lead but they allowed four consecutive goals in a 5-3 loss. Young center Filip Chytil had a giveaway that led to a goal, and despite creating a lot of scoring chances early on, they could not capitalize. Once they fell behind, they started making a lot of risky plays which led to more scoring chances against them.
The Rangers bounced back with a 2-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Oct. 16. They defended fairly well except for one big breakdown late in the third when both Gustafsson and Braden Schneider got caught in the offensive zone which led to a penalty shot for the Coyotes. Fortunately, Shesterkin saved it to preserve the win.
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Once again, the Rangers were unable to build on their momentum as they fell behind 4-0 to the Predators and ended up losing 4-1 on Oct. 19. A sloppy giveaway on the power play led to a breakaway goal and this time Shesterkin struggled and ended up getting pulled. However, with backup goalie Jonathan Quick in goal, the Blueshirts played their most complete game of the season in a 4-1 win against the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 21. They generated far more chances than they gave up and made things easier on their backup goalie in his first start with the team.
Rangers’ Special Teams
Two seasons ago when the Rangers made a run to the Eastern Conference Final, their special teams play was excellent in both the regular season and the playoffs. Like their overall performance so far this season, their special teams play has been inconsistent. In their first game, Kreider scored a power-play goal on a deflection in the first period and he also scored shorthanded off a nice pass from Mika Zibanejad.
In the Rangers’ loss to the Predators, their penalty kill struggled, allowing two power-play goals. While they scored a power-play goal of their own, they also allowed a shorthanded goal. However, the penalty kill bounced back killing off a 5-on-3 opportunity against the Coyotes. They killed off another 5-on-3 in their win over the Kraken.
Thus far this season, the Rangers have scored on 26.7 percent of their power plays. For the most part, the power play has looked good with Adam Fox and Artemi Panarin creating chances from the point and Kreider set up in front of the net. Head coach Peter Laviolette has also given the second unit more ice time than former head coach Gerard Gallant did last season. The decision is providing an opportunity for the team’s skilled young forwards.
The Rangers’ penalty kill is at 75 percent thus far this season. They have come through in some big moments but also struggled to clear the puck out of the defensive zone while shorthanded in both of their losses. They have taken a few penalties in the offensive zone as well as a couple while they were already down a man so avoiding those unnecessary ones can also make a difference.
For the Rangers Moving Forward
Last season the Rangers got off to an 11-10-5 start before turning things around and ultimately making the playoffs. While it is still very early in the season, the Rangers need to be more consistent defensively and on special teams. If they can improve in those two areas, they should be able to start piling up points as they look to make the postseason for the third time in a row.