Currently, the New York Rangers have a 7-2 record and have won five straight games on their West Coast road trip, surviving the scares of the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks. But we’ve seen the Blueshirts find ghosts in the closet and under the bed that have haunted them throughout their illustrious history.
Fellow loyal Blueshirts will know that the pain of following this team will always force you to resort to your belief in Murphy’s Law. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. But on Halloween 2023, there has been very little to complain about during the early 2023-24 season. It’s a weird position for New York sports in general. When was the last time a team had this kind of success to start a year?
Regardless, the Rangers have enjoyed life under Peter Laviolette. Since making the coaching change after the game seven elimination at the hands of the New Jersey Devils, the Rangers have started to live up to the roster’s potential. Kids are making steps, veterans are playing well, and the team seems to be working as a unit with multiple ways to beat opponents and a unity that wasn’t there under Gerard Gallant.
We have been honestly treated to start the new season with players warming up and getting back to their best. Players are developing well under the coaching staff, and with the young talents coming through, we’re in a position to see the Rangers continue to benefit from their decision to rebuild while maintaining a competitive roster with the players the group currently has.
So, if we’re being treated to see the Rangers succeed, what have the Rangers done wrong? Where can the Rangers continue to improve off the back of this long winning streak they currently find themselves on? How have the Rangers lived up to the expectations placed upon them before the season, and where have they struggled to meet the bar?