The New York Rangers remain winless at Madison Square Garden, and a big part of that is an inability to finish chances and score goals. With things not going the way they'd like, Mike Sullivan recently made a bold and risky gamble. In theory it is something that should work, but lately it hasn't. The corresponding impact has exposed a deeper issue for the Rangers, and one that will need to be addressed sooner rather than later if the team wants to get back on track.
Sullivan has loaded up the top line
The Rangers' new top line is a three headed monster that includes Artemi Panarin, J.T. Miller, and Mika Zibanejad. The three players represent the team's most dangerous scorers, and overall most productive offense players over the last few seasons. The duo of Miller and Zibanejad was impactful down the stretch last season, so logically you'd think adding Panarin to the mix would be a benefit.
The line has spent 33.3 minutes together at 5v5 per Evolving-Hockey, and has scored one goal while surrendering 0 against. It has a a CF% of 55.29, but just an xGF% of 47.25. Individually speaking, Panarin has gone six games in a row without a point, Miller has two points in his last five games, and Zibanejad has one point over that same stretch. The Rangers, surprisingly, are 3-2-0 over their last five games, and scored 10 goals while allowing 13 against.
If the Rangers are going to load up their top line, it's a move that needs to pay off offensively to justify weakening the depth of the rest of the lineup. When you look at the numbers from the rest of the team recently, it's a bit surprising the Rangers won as many games as they did.
Supporting cast has been quiet
Will Cuylle had a slow start to the season, but he's turned it on as of late with a goal and four assists in his last five games. Adam Fox continues to be one of the most impactful Rangers defensively, and he's added four points in his last five games. Alexis Lafrenière remains a bit of a controversial player, and lately he's added three assists. Outside of that, you have Braden Schneider with two points, Noah Laba with two goals, Vladislav Gavrikov with a goal and an assist, and then a few players with one or zero points.
Not to pick on Taylor Raddysh specifically, but he recently had a hat trick against the San Jose Sharks in a 6-5 overtime loss at Madison Square Garden. Since that point he has one goal in five games. Conor Sheary is getting prime opportunities and has four assists in 14 games. Juuso Parssinen has three points in 10 games. Adam Edstrom has two assists, and Jonny Brodzinski has a goal and an assist in six games played.
The overall construction of the roster is one that's pretty top heavy, and it will get more balance when Vincent Trocheck returns. But when you have quite a few "meat and potatoes" style players who work hard and aren't viable options to push up the lineup, scoring woes like this aren't all that unexpected. In prior years the team had options like Frank Vatrano or Jack Roslovic to move around, and while they weren't world beaters, they were better suited for the roster. The team feels like it is another top nine forward short, and that could eventually be addressed by promoting Gabe Perreault. But there are other issues that need addressing first, and doing so could have an impact on the forwards.
Blueshirts' blueliners aren't dangerous with puck on their stick
Another problem brewing is the lack of offense from the defense outside of Fox, something that plays a role in the struggles of the forwards. If you aren't a threat to contribute offensively as a defenseman, the opposition will let you hold onto the puck and pay attention to another forward and essentially double team them. The best teams generally have a few defenders who require respecting, whether it be one with a booming shot or someone who can skate and create havoc.
It is absolutely wonderful that Sullivan's system is allowing the Rangers to have possession, limit chances against, and it enables the team to remain in games. That said, Fox has 11 points in 14 games. Schneider is second among blueliners with four points, then you have Gavrikov with three points, Will Borgen with two points, Carson Soucy with two points, Matthew Robertson with a point in eight games, and Urho Vaakanainen with a point in 10 games.
For some context, Jacob Trouba is up to eight points (three goals and five assists) in 12 games played. The Anaheim Ducks defense also features Drew Helleson with six points and Jackson LaCombe with five points. Montreal has Lane Hutson with 13 points and Noah Dobson with eight points. Ottawa has Jake Sanderson with 11 points and Artem Zub with nine points. Toronto also has Morgan Rielly with 10 points and Oliver Ekman-Larsson with nine points.
The Rangers do have Scott Morrow in Hartford if they eventually want to shake things up, but he has just one assist in seven games thus far. It is possible they might have to look outside the organization, and doing so would add some help for Fox, and it could change things up for the forwards.
In any case, the Rangers still have time to fix things. But with the month of November under way, they need to get going quickly and stay within striking distance of a playoff spot. It's hard to work your way back into a spot if you are on the outside looking in come Thanksgiving, so these next couple of weeks are of dire importance for the Rangers.