Why the New York Rangers are a team to be feared when play resumes
All signs are that we will get some definitive word this week about resuming the NHL season. How does it affect the New York Rangers?
Professional sports resumed this weekend and New York Rangers hockey is not too far behind. In Germany, the Bundesliga soccer league played games with no fans and awkward goal celebrations. The PGA tour played a tournament with the players in shorts, carrying their own bags. Nascar restarted its engines with a 400 mile race in Darlington, South Carolina, again with no fans and pit crews wearing masks.
The NHL-NHLPA Return to Play committee spent the weekend meeting, discussing plans for resuming the NHL season. According to Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic (subscription required), the headlines were that they favored a 24 team playoff preceded by some regular season games. The majority of players want to resume play, but there are quite a few who are concerned about health risks.
Meanwhile, the NHL Board of Governors has a meeting scheduled and the report is that there will be a decision forthcoming about the timing of the NHL Entry Draft. The word is Commissioner Gary Bettman favors a June draft as scheduled and he doesn’t need Board approval to move ahead.
At any rate, a 24 team playoff format should include the Rangers and if so, there are reasons for Blueshirts fans to be excited. They could be a miracle waiting to happen.
Most of the experts are in agreement, when play resumes, the New York Rangers are one of the teams to be feared. Here’s why.
Goaltending
Goaltending can be the single biggest factor when it comes to a deep playoff run. A flawed team can ride a hot goalie to playoff success. Whether it was Jean-Sebastian Giguere with the Mighty Ducks in 2003 or Jonathan Quick with the Kings in 2012 or John Vanbiesbrouck with the 1996 Panthers or even John Davidson with the 1979 Rangers, a goalie can be the difference between an early exit and a Stanley Cup.
Enter Igor Shesterkin. If there is one reason why the Rangers can go into the playoffs confident that they can go deep, it’s their rookie goaltender. Can Shesterkin be the Jordan Binnington of 2020? His 10-2 record and .932 save percentage indicates that he could be.
Shesterkin is the single biggest reason the Blueshirts made their late run to playoff contention. He should be completely healed from his rib injury and ready for a long postseason.
Offense
The Rangers have one of the best offenses in the NHL. They score goals in bushels and have the firepower spread over two forward lines, making them a challenge for any NHL team. The Rangers average 3.33 goals per game, good for fifth best in the NHL. They have accomplished that despite sitting at 19th place overall in the NHL in shots taken per game (31.1). They have the seventh best power play in the league, successful 22.9% of the time.
With Chris Kreider recovered from his broken foot, the Rangers will have two fully healthy and powerful forward lines. Mika Zibanejad was the hottest goal scorer in the NHL when play was suspended and there is no reason to believe that he won’t pick up where he left off. With a healthy Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich the team’s top line is formidable.
Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome and Jesper Fast will be waiting in the wings when the KBZ line leaves the ice and there’s no reason to believe that Panarin’s Hart Trophy season won’t continue.
Can Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko and Brett Howden gel and contribute in the playoffs? Don’t forget what Kakko did for Team Finland at the World Championships a year ago. As an 18-year old playing with some of the best pro hockey players he scored six goals in 10 games.
The fourth line has the potential to do well, led by Greg McKegg who stood out in the playoffs last year for Carolina. As a whole, the forwards have been bolstered by the additions of Julien Gauthier and Phil Di Giuseppe and this Ranger team is deeper than you may think.
Defense
Everyone knows that good defense wins championships. If you look at the Rangers’ defense, there are signs of trouble. This season they are allowing an average 3.14 goals per game, 23rd best in the NHL. Only one team since the 2004-05 lockout has been able to win the Stanley Cup allowing more than three goals per game in the regular season. The Carolina Hurricanes allowed 3.15 goals per game in 2006. The 2018 Washington Capitals allowed 2.90 goals per game and last season, the St. Louis Blues gave up an average of 2.68 goals.
Here’s the good news. The Ranger defense has been getting better. Over the first 40 games of the season, the Rangers allowed 141 goals, an average of 3.52 goals per game. Over the last 30 games they have allowed 81 goals, an average of 2.70 goals per game. Over the entire season, that mark would be the sixth best in the NHL.
The Rangers defense is built for the playoffs with three solid pairs that have matured throughout the season. The growth of the Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren pairing has solidified the blueline. and it’s precisely why the team acquired Jacob Trouba to anchor the defense. The challenge will be for Brendan Smith to step up as Trouba’s partner. The long layoff can only help an aging Marc Staal deal with the challenges of a compressed playoff schedule.
Intangibles
It’s likely that the playoff schedule will be compressed with fewer days off. The fact that the Rangers are the youngest team in the league can only be a benefit. This team of players barely out of their teens will recover quicker and be better equipped to play back-to-back playoff games.
As young as the team is, there is a lot of experience as well. It’s why the Rangers signed Chris Kreider and his 77 playoff games to his seven year deal. Marc Staal has played 104 post season games. Jesper Fast has seen action in 39 games. Panarin, Zibanejad and Trouba have all played in over two dozen playoff games.
Igor Shesterkin is no stranger to posteason play. Last year, in the KHL, he appeared in 10 playoff games for SKA St. Petersburg posting a 1.95 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. That GAA was fifth best among KHL netminders who played 10 games or more. One area of concern is that he split his playoff duties with Magnus Hellberg, so he has not endured the stress of an NHL playoff schedule.
That leads to what is perhaps the biggest question for the Rangers. What will be the role of one of the greatest playoff performers in Rangers history. Will Henrik Lundqvist be relegated to third string duty or will he be on the bench, ready to step in with his 128 games of playoff excellence?
We should know soon how the NHL plans to resume this season. No matter what they come up with, there will be complaints about the format. No matter, it will be great to see hockey again in whatever form it takes and the good news is that the Rangers are in an extremely good position when it happens.
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