Comparing this squad to past postseason teams
The New York Rangers have made the postseason, but how do they compare to playoff squads of the recent past.
Though it is not a certainty, it appears that a concept once deemed appropriate by medical professionals, the 24-team NHL postseason, is being planned. For the New York Rangers, getting past the Carolina Hurricanes in the qualifying round could mean their first Stanley Cup Playoff appearance since the 2016-2017 season.
With an aura of excitement building around the young stars of the New York Rangers, this resurgent group has played their way into the conversation as a potential darkhorse team come puck drop. Despite not taking the prototypical route to contention, the Blueshirts are headed to the “playoffs”, and interestingly enough, they are not far off from other Rangers teams of the past.
When discussing the playoffs and New York, almost all fans turn to their recent memory and remember the Cup run of 2014, which ended in heartbreak at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings. But how do the 2019-2020 Rangers stack up against arguably the best team to don the red, white, and blue since 1994?
A trip to the Finals
Captained by Ryan McDonagh, the 2013-2014 Blueshirts were extraordinarily difficult to play against. Unlike their modern-day counterparts who have allowed a whopping 3.14 goals against per game, the Stanley Cup runner-ups placed fourth in the league, allowing just 2.32 goals per tilt.
Looking at these two clubs, the contrast is very clear. As dominant as the McDonagh led squad was in the defensive end, they struggled to put the puck in the net, amassing just 2.61 goals per game. This current Rangers group has scored at a torrid pace, totaling 3.33 tallies a game.
Another interesting tidbit is the age disparity between the two rosters. This year’s Blueshirts roster has an average age of 25.3 as of February 1st, as opposed to the 2013-2014 Rangers, whose average age was 27.4.
Going with the offensive and defensive trends, the Rangers this season had a power-play which was efficient 22.9% of the time and a penalty kill that was successful on 77.4% of the opposition’s man advantages. The sly veterans in 2014 only scored on 18.2% of their power-plays, while racking up kills on 85.3% of their penalties.
The most notable difference between the two sides was the team save percentage which was .921 six-years ago, but just .908 this season.
The Start of a Run
After seven straight seasons without a playoff game, the 2005-2006 Rangers clinched a berth and started a run that would see the Blueshirts in the postseason for 11 of the next 12 campaigns. At the forefront of that squad was 33-year-old Jaromir Jagr, who registered 123 points and carried an otherwise unbalanced attack.
Although that team was older (28.2) than this year’s club, they too ended a drought and reinserted the Rangers into contention. The stout defense was once again a contrast between the two clubs, as the ’05-’06 Rangers allowed just 2.57 goals per game, the fourth-fewest in the NHL.
Similar to the 2013-2014 squad, the old Rangers powerplay hovered around 18%, while their penalty kill was just over 83%. A troubling parallel between this year’s team and those Blueshirts of old is the low save percentage.
By the end of the ’05-’06 regular season, the Rangers save percentage was a mediocre .911, a number that is eerily close to this season’s .908. The one positive this new squad has is their affinity for putting the puck in the net, outscoring that veteran group’s 3.05 by a hefty margin.
Their return to the playoffs was brief as they were swept in the Conference Quarterfinals by the New Jersey Devils. In what could be an interesting parallel, the Rangers started a rookie goalie in the first game, only to see him shellacked 6-1. He was replaced in Game Two by the veteran Kevin Weekes who lost 4-1 That rookie, Henrik Lundqvist, returned to the net for the next two losses.
Coming Up Short
After finishing first in the Atlantic Division with 109 points, the 2011-2012 Rangers fell to their tri-state rivals in the Eastern Conference Finals. They lost the the New Jersey Devils in six games, eliminated just one minute into overtime in the final game on a goal by Adam Henrique. This young group is the most comparable to the current Blueshirt’s roster in terms of age at 26.5 years old.
Despite their limited offense (2.71 GF/GP), a veteran defensive core coupled with the no holds barred defensive, shotblocking stylings of John Tortorella allowed the Rangers to succeed. Lundqvist finished the 2011-12 season with an incredible eight shutouts and a .930 save percentage.
The Rangers also used their 86.2% penalty kill to overcome their pitiful power play that clocked in at just under 16%. One of the craziest differences between that season’s Blueshirts and the current edition was the average number of goals scored per game by both teams.
There were just 4.93 goals scored by the two teams per game in that 2011-2012 season, a number that has jumped to 6.47 during this 2019-2020 campaign.
This year, the Rangers hope that Igor Shesterkin can catch the same type of fire that Lundqvist possessed during that 2012 postseason, when he posted a 1.82 GAA, .931 save percentage, and three shutouts.
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Looking Ahead
The roads may have been different, but the current New York Rangers team has the same destination in mind as their brothers who have battled before them. Offensively they are one of the most potent Blueshirt teams to ever lace them up, a signature of the evolution that the NHL has undergone.
Although not as adept in their own end, with the prospect of a young goalie standing tall in goal and a group of offensive-minded skaters, the 2019-2020 Rangers hope their differences may be what they need to make a run in this unexpected but exciting 24-team playoff.
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