Defense and offense
The Blueshirts have solidified their defense. Ever since the 9-3 blowout in Tampa, the Rangers have allowed 21 goals in eight games, an average of 2.62 goals per game. If they had done that all season, they would have the seventh lowest GAA in the NHL.
While the defense has gotten better, the offense is clicking. Since snapping their five game October losing streak, the Blueshirts have scored 64 goals in 17 games for an average of 3.76 goals per game. The Washington Capitals lead the league at 3.71 and the Bruins are second at 3.69. Not too shabby.
The Rangers still bleed shots and have been outshot in 20 of 25 games. They are allowing an average of 35.9 against per game, second most in the NHL. Meanwhile they take an average of 29.5 shots per game. Their -6.4 differential is worst in the NHL. As a result, Henrik Lundqvist and Alexandar Georgiev have often been under siege, but overall the team’s save percentage is .908, good for 11th best in the NHL.
That number is even more impressive when you consider that the Rangers are the most penalized team in the league. They are averaging 12:57 penalty minutes per game, most in the NHL. They’ve been shorthanded 99 times this season and have allowed 23 powerplay goals for success rate of 76.8% in 23rd place. They’ve also scored a league high six shorthanded goals giving them a differential of 17 goals. If you take out that lost trip to Florida when they allowed seven power play goals in 12 chances, their percentage is 81.6% and that would be good for 16th overall.
Some other positives when it comes to offense include their shooting percentage of 11.4%, second best in the East and third best in the NHL. That’s also a number to monitor. If it drops, look out.
The team has gotten off to good starts, scoring first in 17 of 25 games. They’ve gone on to win 11 of those games.
The Rangers are good at holding leads. They are yet to lose in regulation when taking a lead into the third period. In ten games they are 8-0-2. One big reason is that they have allowed only 19 third period goals, the best in the East and second best in the NHL.
That said, they are not great at comebacks. They have a 2-5-2 record when trailing after one period. They’ve only come back once when trailing after two periods, the game last weekend in Montreal.
One of the bugaboos last season was one goal games. The Rangers won 18 of 42 games decided by one goal. This season, they are slightly better, winning five of 10. They actually did pretty well last season by getting at least a point in 32 of 42 one goal games (they lost 14 in OT). This season they’ve gotten at least a point in eight of 10. That could be the difference between making or missing the postseason.
Some numbers are worth noting. The Blueshirts are third in giveaways in the East with 334, an indication of how young this team is. They have 213 takeaways, good for fourth in the East.
One thing all Rangers fans know is that this is not a very physical team. They are 19th overall in hits with 535. Compare that to the lead leading Vegas Golden Knights who have 802 hits. Vegas averages 29 hits per game, the Rangers average 21.