Through 13 games the New York Rangers have yet to truly impress me. On the surface, all looks well with a 9-3-1 record. Artemi Panarin has carried over his dominance from last season with 21 points and Igor Shesterkin has been incredible (outside of two blowup games) with a .920 save percentage. However, the team looks less impressive under the microscope.
The Rangers have manhandled lesser teams and struggled against contenders. They have been giving up shots hand over fist and have done a disappearing act on offense for extended stretches. It’s still early, but here are my main gripes with this team that are holding them back from being a true contender.
Shot imbalance
The key issue this year has been how often the Rangers find themselves pinned in their own zone. Much like last season, they have had to over-rely on Igor to bail them out of games. We thought last year was bad, this year has been worse. In 2023-24 the Rangers languished at 19th in the league with 50.09% of shot attempts (also known as Corsi percentage). This season they are 25th at 47.06%. Last season they gave up 23.55 shots/game, this season that figure is up to 25.31. (All stats from moneypuck.com) They’re also forcing less takeaways while turning the puck over more. You get the idea.
These numbers were supposed to get better with Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba at full strength and K’Andre Miller taking as step forward. Instead, Miller has regressed, and Peter Laviolette seems intent on keeping the Fox/Ryan Lindgren and Trouba/Miller pairs together, despite evidence of them struggling. The struggles have typically been in the form of getting stuck in the defensive zone.
Teams have been able to effectively dump the puck deep and forecheck to force turnovers when Rangers’ defensemen go back for it. We saw Florida effectively win a series by pinning the Rangers in their own zone during last year’s ECF. This is a long-term issue that needs fixing and it’s up to Peter Laviolette to figure out what buttons he needs to push to make his team more defensively stout.
Mediocre Mika
The other concern that continues to linger is Mika Zibanejad’s inadequate play at five on five. In 13 games this season he has just one goal and two assists. That is simply not good enough for a 1C. His possession metrics are equally concerning. His Corsi for percentage sits at a measly 41.9% and has just 1.1 expected goals at five on five. Again, simply not good enough from you 1C. Like the Rangers, his counting stats are fine with 11 points in 13 games. However, upon closer examination, Mika looks less like a team’s number one pivot.
Perhaps the more damning nail in the coffin has been the eye test. Mika does not look like he is having fun out there. He seems far less confident with the puck on his stick and does not skate nearly as hard as he used to. Apparently Laviolette noticed this and reduced Mika’s minutes.
Mika seemed to take issue with this, as one would expect. It’s never a good sign that your top center has had his minutes reduced. Simply put, the Mika that scored five goals in a game against the Capitals in 2020 has vanished into thin air. Seriously, go watch the highlights of that game, he is a different player now.
Not good enough
My tempered mood partially stems from the expectations I hold for this team. Coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, it is hard to sit back and accept anything less than a Cup Finals run, especially when we do not know how much longer this core will be together. This season has not been all bad, as the team is creating a higher percentage of high danger chances (their expected goals percentage has increased from 49.27% to 51.15%) and have seen the likes of Filip Chytil and Will Cuylle take steps forward in their development.
That said, my arguments above still stand as roadblocks to hanging a banner. The Rangers ran into a brick wall in the conference finals in the Florida Panthers. Yes, they were the eventual Stanley Cup champions, but that is because they played a physical yet efficient brand of hockey. They made few mistakes in their own end and got contributions from up and down the lineup.
The Rangers’ forward depth looks better this year with Chytil healthy, but the defense is still leaky at best and their top line center is MIA for the second straight season. Ultimately, this team does not look different enough from last year’s team to make me think they are a threat to win the Stanley Cup. Let’s hope they figure it out before April.