The NY Rangers sent the NHL a startling message through five games

The NY Rangers may have sent the rest of the NHL a startling message even if they’ve only played five games so far in 2024-25. Following their win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Blueshirts have officially proven a point this season, one that their fans will love but the rest of the league will find discomforting. 

It’s the fact that, not only are there zero weak spots on this hockey team, but there aren’t even position groups that you can say are “solid but unspectacular.” They simply don’t exist on the Rangers, and for the rest of the NHL, it’s a wake up call, a startling message that the only way they can beat New York in its present form is to catch them on a bad day. 

Right now, this team isn’t just second in goals scored heading into Sunday, but they have one winger who is channeling his inner-Wayne Gretzky in Artemi Panarin. Panarin has been so good through five games that he’s got 12 points and six goals. While it may not last, do the math and adjust those numbers to 82 contests, and you get 197 points. 

NY Rangers look like a team on a mission so far through 2024-25

Defensively, as of October 20th, they’re third in the league with just 10 goals allowed, and this is a team that is still missing a couple of pieces in Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey. And they're doing all of this without being overtly physical, as they’re averaging a meager 17.8 hits per game. So it’s mainly been about positioning and breathtaking play while in the offensive zone. 

But let’s not forget about what Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick have done, as the former is once again starting to look like a Vezina candidate. Sure, Shesterkin had one ‘really bad start’ this season, but that’s the only blemish apart from what’s been a fine performance so far, and one that has seen a shutout and a GAA of 1.97. 

Overall, even the best teams in the NHL have their respective weak points, unless that team happens to be the Rangers. Now, injuries and other unfortunate events can happen, but right now, nothing other than a bad game here or there will stop this team. 

If they can keep this momentum going through mid-April, there’s no question they will make another deep playoff run, if not more. So, if you’re a fan right now, you should be feeling very, very good about your team’s chances to finally secure an elusive Stanley Cup, but they have got to stay full throttle.