Scoring at Even Strength: The Rangers’ Quest for Five-on-Five Brilliance
Dig into the New York Rangers’ journey as they aim to master the five-on-five offense and turn their already stellar season into a championship recipe.
After the first 5-0 road trip in franchise history, the New York Rangers returned home on Tuesday as stars of the city. That said, there are still holes in these 7-2 Blueshirts. Reigning head coach of the month Peter Laviolette knows this, and he addressed it after their remarkable journey.
New York has relied on their outstanding special teams, notably a power play that ranks second in the NHL with a 34.4% conversion rate. They’ve also been the best in the faceoff dot at 54.5%. Stick taps to assistant coach Micheal Pecca for that.
Rangers’ Quest for Five-on-Five Offense Dominance:
Now, although they’re struggling offensively at even strength, they don’t want to compromise their solid defense. Maintaining that tight defensive play is a priority. Yet Laviolette’s message is clear: we can have both stellar defense and potent offense.
“We’re just not getting to where we need to get to and delivering what we need to deliver,” Laviolette said. “It could be through anything – could be conversations, could be video, could be recognition, could be in practice – (but) you’re trying to make sure, without taking away from what’s been working, that we realize where we’re at and where we need to get to.”
So, amid this incredible five-game winning streak, New York is still focused on improving. The five-on-five offense has been a concern for a while.
As per Natural Stat Trick, they find themselves in the 28th spot for goals scored per 60 minutes, with a rate of 1.68. They’re 29th in shots on goal per 60 with 26.38 shots. Regarding expected goals per 60, they’re in 26th, at 2.35. And when it comes to high-danger scoring chances per 60, they’re tied for 30th, managing 8.93 attempts.
Laviolette is determined to address this as New York prepared to host the three-time reigning Metropolitan division champion Carolina Hurricanes in their return home on Thursday.
“We continue to talk and push the (offensive) side of the game, which is the attack side of the game,” he said. “That’s kind of how I opened the meeting. When you see something, you can present it. You can show it. You can talk about things. You can present numbers, thoughts, and whatever. From there, you need to buy in to change the mindset of what we’re doing on the flip side. That’s something that our group is talking about.”
The Rangers are on the right track, and the team understands the importance of pushing for improvement. It’s been a great start, but there’s plenty of hockey left to play. Let’s support the Blueshirts and hope they reach even greater heights on their road to glory.