The Rangers Now Have Two Stacked Power-Play Units

With all of their Trade Deadline shopping appearing to be over, the New York Rangers have set themselves up well for a deep playoff run this spring. They are loaded with talent up front, a solid defensive core who can step it up when they need to and they have an elite goalie between the pipes. One of the key factors for the Rangers these past two seasons have been their power play.

Last season, they had a top-five power play in the league and it came up big in key moments during the season and in the playoffs. This season, the power-play has been up and down and while it looks like they are finding their stride now, the power-play needs to become as deadly as it was last season. With all the talent the Rangers have, they are able to now put out two units that are equally deadly.

The Rangers are currently ninth in the league on the power play and with the addition of Patrick Kane, the top unit gets even more deadly. Let’s take a look at the potential first unit. It looks like it will consist of Kane, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Chris Kreider, and Artemi Panarin. Just looking at that unit on paper should give Ranger fans excitement.

The Rangers have very dangerous offensive weapons and having all of them on one unit should give the other teams problems on the penalty kill. We all know Mika has his shot, Kreider with his deflections, and Panarin with his passes. Kane can add a little of both to this unit. He can shoot the puck and he is also an excellent passer. So depending on where Kane is on the ice during the power-play, he can use his shot or he can pass the puck and it should end up in the back of the net more often then not.

With all of that talent on the top unit, the Rangers will still have tons of talent on the second unit. This unit will most likely be Filip Chytil, Vincent Trocheck, Vladimir Tarasenko, Kaapo Kakko, and K’Andre Miller. With Miller suspended, Jacob Trouba will likely be at the point. Alexis Lafreniere will likely not be on the power play or he could swap with Kakko if it needs to happen.

This unit has so much potential to be just as deadly as the first. Tarasenko can shoot, Trocheck can deflect and Chytil can shoot and pass. Kakko can do the work on the boards and Trouba has a hard shot. When Miller comes back, he will be the quarterback and he can move the puck very well. Who would have thought that Tarasenko would be on the second unit when he arrived in New York? The Rangers are stacked.

One issue that the fans have had with the power play is the lack of time the second unit gets, especially when the first unit is struggling. The top guys like to stay out for over 90 seconds, which leaves the next unit with 25-30 seconds of time which is just not enough. Now that there are two units that could both do some damage, there is no reason for the top unit to take up most of the time if they are struggling to produce.

The Rangers have loaded up on big-name players in hope that they will push them over the edge and will help them get the Stanley Cup. These players are here to score goals and by adding them to the power-play, they will only help the rest of the team score on the power-play. The Rangers have relied on the power-play in key moments and with the pieces they added, they should have all the confidence that they can get the job done.