The New York Rangers have scored a total of 63 goals this season. Nearly half of those goals are by young players. While the young players are covering the scoring, the veterans are finding their tempo.
The New York Rangers have won six of their last seven games, letting their season rest at 9-8-2. The team is making massive improvement, considering they lost eight out of the first 10 games. They have scored 63 goals at this point, with many more to come.
Mika Zibanejad is leading the team in scoring, nine out of 63 goals. Behind him is Pavel Buchnevich with eight goals. Michael Graber has eight goals while Rick Nash has seven.
When the scoring is divided up by player and then by the age of each player, the result is a near 50-50 between age groups. The “kids” (players under the age of 25) have scored nearly half of the goals so far.
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The young guys
On the New York Rangers there are seven players that are age 25 or younger. Out of these seven players, six of them have at least two goals on the season. Between those seven players, there are 30 goals. Those 30 goals account for nearly half of the entire teams goal count so far this season.
Mika Zibanejad, 24 years old, leads the 25 and younger group (and the team) with nine goals. Behind him is 22 year old Pavel Buchnevich, who has eight goals. Kevin Hayes, who is 25 years old, along with Jimmy Vesey, 24, both have four goals. J.T. Miller has scored three goals. Finally, 23 year old defenseman Brady Skjei has scored two goals.
The only player who doesn’t have any goals in this age group is the newly brought up from Hartford, Boo Nieves. He has played six games and assisted on three goals.
While the young players on the Rangers are covering the scoring, the teams veterans are working hard. As the season goes on, they will slide into their tempo and find their stride.
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The veterans
The remaining goals that were scored, had been scored by veterans of the team. There are some players with more, some with less. But the remaining 33 goals are belonging to players 26 years old and up.
Defensemen Marc Staal, 31, and Nick Holden, 30, have one goal each. Along side them is 26 year old forward Jesper Fast. David Desharnais, who is also 31 years old, has two goals so far. Mats Zuccarello, who is also 30 years old, has three goals on the season so far. Chris Kreider, 26, and the newly acquired, 29 year old defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk each have five goals.
Two veterans who have already found their place are Michael Grabner and Rick Nash. Grabner is quickly catching up to Zibanejad, with eight goals. Rick Nash is just behind him with seven goals.
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The remaining six players, including captain Ryan McDonagh, and both goalies, have no goals on the season. This definitely has the chance to change, and with the way the team has been playing it most likely will.
The younger members of the team have come running out of the gate, scoring left and right. The veterans have been slowly finding their footing. But when they do, they’ll be unstoppable.