5 biggest surprises halfway through the New York Rangers season

5 biggest surprises halfway through the season

Mar 6, 2021; Newark, New Jersey, USA; New York Rangers right wing Pavel Buchnevich (89) celebrates a goal by defenseman Libor Hajek (25) (not pictured) during the second period of their game against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports /

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Keith Kinkaid #71, Jacob Trouba #8 and Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers defend Credit: Bruce Bennett/POOL PHOTOS-USA TODAY Sports /

Surprise #2 – The penalty kill

Our surprise #1 (Buchnevich) has had a lot to do with this and it has to rank as one of the biggest surprises this season. The Rangers are the third best team in the entire NHL with a success rate of 86.6%. They’ve killed 67 of their last 73 penalties and their penalty killing success has transformed the overall team defense.

Besides Buchnevich the top penalty killing unit has been Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren along with Mika Zibanejad. The second unit of Jacob Trouba, K’Andre Miller, Brett Howden and Kevin Rooney has been no less effective.

How good is the penalty kill? In the 43 years that the NHL has kept these statistics, only the 2008-09 Rangers team (87.8%) has had a better penalty killing percentage.

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