The New York Rangers have not been too impressive to start the season. But, there are aspects of the first four games that have stood out positively.
The New York Rangers have started off the 2017-18 season in less than desirable fashion, going 1-3-0. The team hasn’t shown much offense outside of the top line, and the defense has looked extremely suspect at times, lacking structure and cohesion. Alain Vigneault has begun his usual tinkering with the lineup, taking Kevin Shattenkirk off the top pairing, replacing him with Marc Staal, and playing Nick Holden and Steven Kampfer over Brendan Smith and Anthony DeAngelo.
While all this may seem like nothing is going right, and that there isn’t any reason to be excited, that is far from true. The Rangers have had a select few players step up and shine, and other aspects of their game that looked pedestrian in recent years have looked lethal so far.