Five characteristics of this New York Rangers season

2. There is a lack of aggression

Being an aggressive hockey team encompasses consistency with a lot of smaller actions. Applying pressure, attacking the puck, and preventing passes are some of the biggest weak spots for the Blueshirts. The Rangers certainly do not come to mind when you picture a team with a strong forecheckers.

Specifically, the Rangers, like most other teams do, need to delegate a few guys to be on the forecheck. This will make New York a hard team to play against, and will not allow the other team relax. Hockey is just as much of a mental game as it is physical and if a team does not feel pressure with the puck, they are going to exploit that.

Not only can they increase pressure in the opponent’s defensive zone, but the Rangers need to attack in their defensive zone. In fact, we can see most teams usually moving the puck around the Rangers with ease. They are able to pass cleanly and take shots because the Rangers are passive in their zone, making the goaltender’s job that much harder.

When the same bad habits are carried over from game to game, it is going to wear the team down mentally. The final score (3-2) from December 5th against the Columbus Blue Jackets appeared to be a simple win, but that was not really how the game went. The New York club was outshot in the opening and last frame and tied with 11 in the middle period. In total, the shots were 47-19 in favor of Columbus. What should stand out is that the Rangers only had two shots in the last period.