What to make of the New York Rangers’ performance so far this season

The New York Rangers have gotten off to a very solid start to the season. They are currently 2-1-1 and have five points out of a possible eight .

Head Coach Gerard Gallant has his team playing hard, on the forecheck every play, and getting into the dirty areas of the ice. Everything that Gallant said his team would do during the off-season.

Even though we are only four games into the season, the Rangers are on their way to a very exciting year. Here are some notes to take on their performance thus far.

Igor Shesterkin is an early Vezina Trophy candidate

Yes, he has only played three games so far this season. Yes, it’s still early. But, Igor Shesterkin is playing off the charts right now. He has a 1.63 Goals Against Average  and a .949 Save Percentage and the Rangers have his last two starts with the third an overtime loss.  His play is reminiscent of a certain Swedish kid who wore #30 who carried the Rangers to victory every single night.

During his third start of the year against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Shesterkin was fantastic. He stopped 40 of 41 shots including a sequence of miraculous saves in overtime. Igor made a horrible pass right to Leafs’ superstar Auston Matthews yet he made the save when he was way out of the net in the slot area.

Then, William Nylander got the rebound and passed it to Matthews who was once again denied by the Czar of New York. It was one of the craziest sequences of Rangers hockey in a long time.

As the season progresses, expect Igor Shesterkin to be a Vezina Trophy contender. He is one of the most important players on this young Ranger team.

This team has fight and physicality

Of the main issues for David Quinn’s Rangers was that they had no grit or fight. Last year, the Blueshirts were 15th in the league in hits per game. Now, they are 6th in hits so far this season.

To be a successful team in hockey, no matter the level, a team needs a balance of skill and grit. When Quinn was behind the bench, the Rangers had one of the most talented rosters in the league, yet they weren’t winning. It was due to the fact that whenever they played a team such as the Islanders or the Capitals they were outplayed in the dirty areas of the ice. That has all changed so far this season.

Gerard Gallant’s Blueshirts have embraced his coaching style and finally added fight to their intangibles of skill. And fight doesn’t necessarily mean dropping the gloves.

The second period of their 2-1 win in OT against the Maple Leafs could’ve gone the other way had the Rangers folded in the second period where they only had two shots on goal. Under David Quinn, the game would’ve been lost.

Instead, Gallant rallied his troops and the Rangers kept grinding away to force overtime where they eventually won 2-1. Though it was only the fourth game of the season, the fact that the Rangers have this level of fortitude is a great sign of things to come and Gerard Gallant should be applauded for his efforts.

The verdict

The New York Rangers have a very promising present and future. If they continue to play as they have, they could be a deadly threat heading towards the tail end of the year.