New York Rangers: Five Must-Know 2016-17 Statistics
The New York Rangers’ 2016-17 season filled the stat sheets with many surprises.
Going into the season, the New York Rangers were expected to compete for a playoff spot. There were various questions throughout the lineup regarding various players, however.
As we enter the final stretch of the season, the Rangers we know the Rangers will be playing important hockey in mid-April. Considering the Rangers’ set spot as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, New York has little left to play for this season.
However, plenty remains to analyze. Alan Vigneault continues to constantly tinker the lineup, swapping players left, right, and center. Whether or not his moves pan out we will have to wait and see, but thus far the lineup has produced some interesting statistics.
Let’s take a look at the most interesting statistics of the season thus far.
Mats Zuccarello: Even Strength Assist Machine-
Connor McDavid, Ryan Getzlaf, Mark Scheifele. Those are the only three players with more even strength assists than New York Rangers’ forward Mats Zuccarello this season.
Although Zuccarello’s goal scoring abilities diminished a bit this season, his ability to set up his teammates jumped into the elite category. Zucarello would lead 27 NHL teams in even strength assists, and has nine more even strength assists than the next best Ranger, Brady Skjei.
Zuccarello will likely reach the 60-point mark this season while playing on a contract that earns him only $4.5 Million. Although he sometimes struggles defensively, his effort levels are consistently off the chart.
It’s time Zuccarello gets the recognition he deserves as one of the top set-up men in the entire National Hockey League.
Brady Skjei: Rookie Wunderkind-
Few believed Brady Skjei would be able to handle the workload leftover when Keith Yandle departed in the off-season. Those few deserve to take a bow.
Brady Skjei has filled Yandle’s void and then some this season. Defensively, Skjei more than holds his own against some of the best players in the NHL. You can regularly see him breaking up passes in the neutral zone and turning the game into the other teams’ zone.
However, the most impressive statistics come offensively for Skjei.
Skjei currently ranks fourth in the NHL in even strength assists by a defenseman. That’s by all defensemen. Skjei has more even strength assists than: John Klingberg, Duncan Keith, Kevin Shattenkirk, Victor Hedman, John Carlson, and more. Skjei is tied for first among rookies in the category as well.
Need more evidence?
Oh, and if you think all Skjei can do is put up assists, the rookie defenseman ranks fifth among all NHL defensemen in even strength points. He’s having a phenomenal rookie season.
Pavel Buchnevich: Point Producer
Although Alain Vigneault refuses to accept this, Pavel Buchnevich is putting up fantastic numbers in his rookie season. He simply isn’t getting enough playing time for the numbers to jump out to the naked eye.
Among all NHL players with 300 minutes played or more, Pavel Buchnevich ranks 15th in even strength points per 60 minutes. Buchnevich’s number leads Nikita Kucherov, Patrick Kane, Alexander Ovechkin, and Vladimir Tarasenko, among others.
Buchnevich averages 2.39 points per 60 minutes, scoring 16 even strength points in 401 minutes played this season. He is one of only two Rangers with over 2 points per 60 minutes on the year, joining Chris Kreider in the statistic.
The number should afford Buchnevich additional playing time in the top six. With Alain Vigneault at the helm, however, don’t count on it.
New York Rangers’ Late Game Woes
Remember when the Rangers won 374,000 (editors note: this is hyperbole) games in a row when leading after two periods? Those days are long gone.
The Rangers lost twice to the Islanders when leading after two periods. Two other times this season the Rangers failed to hold the lead when leading after two. Those four losses put them in rough company.
The good news is the Rangers rank 12th in winning percentage when leading after two periods. That’s a step back from where they usually stand, but it’s not the worst among current playoff teams.
However, the bad news is the Rangers have the second most losses when leading after two periods. They have four losses of the kind, trailing only the Colorado Avalanche (7) in the category.
While normally New York made fans feel like games were over once they held a lead going into the third, that has not been the case this season at all. Look out for that in the playoffs.
Shooooooooot, Ryan McDonagh-
One of the most annoying things you’ll ever hear at a hockey game is the cacophony of fans yelling “shoooooooot” any time a player has the puck in the offensive zone. However, when Ryan McDonagh has the puck this season, it may be warranted.
McDonagh averages 3.24 shots per 60 minutes at even strength this season. He ranks 15th on the Rangers, and 111th in the NHL among players with at least 500 minutes played this season. McDonagh shoots less often than Brooks Oprik and Kyle Quincey, among others.
The Rangers’ top defenseman has a strong shot that he must use more. McDonagh ranks 26th among NHL defensemen in shots per 60 minutes on the power-play, meaning he prefers to pass the puck in all situations.
At even strength, the lack of shots can be explained by the Rangers lack of having the puck. Dan Girardi serves as McDonagh’s most common defensive partner, so McDonagh doesn’t have the puck in the offensive zone too often.
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Altogether, however, McDonagh seems to prefer to be a set-up man than a shooter this season. While the Rangers certainly possess the weapons to make that decision wise, using McDonagh’s cannon from the blue-line would aid the Rangers in keeping opposing defenses on their toes. McDonagh should shoot more. Shooooooooot.
all stats via Hockey Analysis