How the Rangers can take the next step in January
The New York Rangers have had an up-and-down season so far, filled with the highs of a seven-game win streak and the lows of winning once in five games while getting battered by the Chicago Blackhawks at home. Now, 2023 is here, and the Rangers started it off with a 5-3 in Florida against the Panthers.
January is a tough month for the Rangers: it includes matchups with the two leading teams in the division in the Hurricanes and Devils, and more top teams in the league, such as the Bruins and Maple Leafs.
This will be a telling month. Here are three things the Rangers need to do to make the best of it.
Consistent defense
This was the Rangers’ problem early in the season, and while they have gotten their defensive woes solved (somewhat), New York is going to need good defense this month. While this is obvious, they are playing teams that can score: Carolina, New Jersey, Boston, Florida, and Toronto — all of whom the Rangers play this month — can score.
The Rangers will need captain Jacob Trouba to step up on the defensive end of the ice, and will also need K’Andre Miller to continue his spell of good hockey. This, along with the consistency of Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren, can help them win games against good teams.
Power play success
Before scoring on the man advantage against the Panthers, the Rangers’ power play was ice-cold. This has caused them to move out of the top 10 in the league, with a percentage of 22.3 percent.
When hot, New York’s power play is unstoppable, but when cold, they cannot buy a goal. This cannot be emphasized enough: New York needs to capitalize on the man advantage to be successful.
Gerard Gallant has continued to put the same five — Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, and Vincent Trocheck — on the ice, but the second unit has also gotten a little more time. No matter who is on the ice, New York will need production.
Secondary production
The Rangers cannot rely on their star power in order to have constant success, and this is where the rest of the team comes in. Going into the season, this was a question mark, as they lost players such as Andrew Copp and Frank Vatrano.
The promising thing is that Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil have both shown glimpses of being superstars lately. Kakko is coming off a two-assist game against Florida, and he has been much better of late, and Chytil has been quiet lately but has arguably flashed the most this season. These two have shown how good they can be and need to keep this up.
What the Rangers need: Alexis Lafreniere. While his season has not gone the way many expected, bottoming off with a healthy scratch on December 29 against the Lightning, Lafreniere still has shown some flashes of his potential. But, he needs to add another dimension to his game, whether this is his skating or getting more pucks to the net, in order to become more of a threat.
Furthermore, these secondary contributions might be able to come from others that aren’t the kids. Julien Gauthier has his scoring chances every game, and Jimmy Vesey can score goals when paired with the right players. Vitali Kravtsov has also been better as of late, and this can result in some production.
This would be monumental for the Rangers if some non-stars get going.
What now?
If these three things happen, the Rangers could be looking at a good month. No, it’s not easy, and no, if these happen New York is guaranteed victories. But, it would put Gerard Gallant and company in a much better position to win big hockey games this month.