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New York Rangers: Five ways the team can improve from within

By Nicholas Zararis

VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 28: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers smiles as he looks on from the bench during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena February 28, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. New York won 6-5 in overtime. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 28: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers smiles as he looks on from the bench during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena February 28, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. New York won 6-5 in overtime. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 06: Chris Kreider
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 06: Chris Kreider /

The Rangers have the talent for a pretty good first line, but their head coach breaks it up way too quickly.

Lineup choices under Alain Vigneault have always been an adventure. Most infamously, the head coach healthy scratched Pavel Buchnevich for Tanner Glass last season. This is tied to his distrust of young players but there is more to it than that. This season the team’s best line without a shadow of a doubt has been Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich.

The forwards are a rarity on the Rangers in that they drive possession in the offensive zone. As a whole, the team is the worst in the league at shot share even though they are not dead last in the standings. The combination of Zibanejad, Kreider and Buchnevich works so well because of how well they compliment each other.

Kreider is the most dynamic of the three forwards because of his game-breaking speed. This was showcased against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 14th. The two time defending Stanley Cup Champions had no answers for his skating.

Zibanejad is a unique player in that he is both a skilled distributor and a talented shooter. This season, in particular, he has found a scoring stroke that has helped him achieve a career high of 24  goals even though he’s missed ten games. With a clean bill of health and an improved team, 30 goals wouldn’t be out of the question.

Lastly, Buchnevich is the rawest of the three forwards but has the most to explore. The Russian’s game is still rather unrefined and his skillset has been misidentified. Buchnevich has never been considered a pure goal scorer and it has skewered the perspective on his production. The forward distributes and creates in the vain of Mats Zuccarello and that is a good thing for the future.

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