New York Rangers: Numbers at the halfway mark

The big guns

So, how important are the Rangers’ best players?  When Mika Zibanejad is on the scoresheet, the Rangers have won 19 times going 19-5-5.   When Zibanejad doesn’t get a point, the Rangers are 3-7-2.

How about Artemi Panarin?  When Panarin gets at least one point, the team is 17-7-3.   When he is shut out, they are 5-5-4.

Let’s look at Chris Kreider.   When Kreider scores a goal, the Rangers are 11-4-1.   That’s a solid record, but last season they were 30-9-3 when he scored.

Adam Fox’s importance to the team should be no mystery.  He has gotten a goal or assist in 28 of the team’s first 41 games.  The Rangers have won 16 of those  28 games with a record of 16-6-6.   When Fox scores a goal, the Rangers are 5-1-1.

In the 13 games that Fox has been held off the scoresheet, the Rangers are 6-6-1.

No matter how you look at it, any success for the Rangers will be dependent on how their best players do.

Better or worse?

When it comes to scoring, just going by the numbers, here are the players whose projected totals are over 82 games compared to last season:

• Mika Zibanejad:  38 goals, 88 points vs 29 goals, 81 points
• Adam Fox:  14 goals, 80 points vs 10 goals, 73 points
• Filip Chytil:  22 goals, 42 points vs 8 goals, 22 points
• Kaapo Kakko:  18 goals, 36 points vs 7 goals, 18 points
• K’Andre Miller:  6 goals, 40 points vs 7 goals, 20 points
• Barclay Goodrow:  16 goals, 36 points vs 13 goals, 33 points
• Vincent Trocheck: 26 goals, 60 points vs Ryan Strome’s 21 goals, 54 points
• Braden Schneider:  10 goals, 20 points vs 2 goals, 11 points
• Julien Gauthier:  12 goals, 18 points vs 3 goals, 7 points

Players who are on pace to end up with worse numbers include:

• Artemi Panarin:  22 goals, 90 points vs 22 goals, 96 points (virtually the same)
• Chris Kreider:  38 goals, 60 points vs 52 goals, 77 points (it would be hard to top that career season)
• Alexis Lafreniere:  10 goals, 36 points vs 19 goals, 31 points (big drop in goals)
• Jacob Trouba  6 goals, 28 points vs 11 goals, 39 points

Good health

If there is a dangerous number when it comes to this Rangers team it’s based on the team’s good health.  They have lost 26-man games to injury this season, the fewest of any team in the NHL.  Of the 26, 11 were from injuries to Vitali Kravtsov.  Compare that to their Metropolitan Division rivals.

1. Washington Capitals: 262 games (Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom & Carl Hagelin have not played yet this season)
2. Carolina Hurricanes: 125 games
3. New Jersey Devils:  122 games (includes 39 games for backup goalie Jonathan Bernier)
4. York Islanders:  67 games
5. Pittsburgh Penguins:  61 games
6. New York Rangers: 26 games

Unlike their opponents, the Blueshirts have avoided the injury bug.  If their injury luck runs out, it will be a real test of the organization’s depth.