What’s to blame for Rangers’ struggles?
It was only eight months ago when the New York Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy. But this season, they are performing well below expectations. Adam Vingan looks at the reasons why.
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It was only eight months ago when the New York Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy. They set a franchise record with 55 wins and 114 points before appearing in their second conference final in three years.
General manager Chris Drury did not rest on those laurels. A stretch of six regulation losses in seven games compelled Drury to act, leading to the trade of Rangers captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
“I don’t know if it was intended to send a message, but obviously it does,” Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck told reporters Friday. “Whenever your captain gets traded, it sets the precedent that if you don’t produce, if you don’t win games, the management has to do something to change it up. And it could be any of us.”
Trocheck and his teammates rallied around each other in a 4-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. But the Rangers followed it up by suffering back-to-back home losses to the Seattle Kraken (7-5) and bottom-dwelling Chicago Blackhawks (2-1).
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Last season proved that the Rangers have the firepower, particularly on the power play, to outperform their expected results. Their five-on-five play was a major weakness, as evidenced by a 49.2 xGF percentage that finished 20th in the NHL. So far this season, New York has generated 50.3 per cent of the expected goals at 5-on-5 (17th).
Despite that, the Rangers have some of the league’s highest-scoring forward lines. Trocheck, Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafrenière have been on the ice for 19 Rangers goals at five-on-five, tied for the top spot. The third line of Will Cuylle, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko has been dominant, outscoring opponents 12-1.
The loss to the Kraken on Sunday was emblematic of the Rangers’ problems. After Seattle went ahead 6-3 around the midway point of the third period by capitalizing on defensive breakdowns, New York scored twice to bring the game back within reach after blowing a 3-1 lead. (The Trocheck line factored on both goals.)
The Rangers generate 11.5 high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5 per game (7th), but they also allow the same number of high-danger scoring chances against at five-on-five per game (28th). Opponents have taken advantage of that high-risk style; New York gives up 6.04 rush scoring chances (third worst) and 5.81 odd-man rushes (worst) per game at 5-on-5.
On Monday, the Blackhawks had 17 scoring chances off Rangers turnovers in all situations, two of which ended up in the back of the net. Mika Zibanejad was responsible for one of the costly giveaways. The highly compensated centre, whose $8.5 million-per-year contract runs through 2030 and carries a no-movement clause, has had a rough start. New York has been outscored 21-12 and is generating 45.4 per cent of the expected goals during Zibanejad’s five-on-five minutes. (New York had a 46-39 edge in five-on-five goals with Zibanejad on the ice last season.)
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New York owes a debt of gratitude to its goaltenders for the team’s 12-4-1 start. Igor Shesterkin, whose new contract (eight years, $11.5 million annual cap hit) is the richest for a goaltender in league history, certainly earned it over the first part of the season. He saved 8.45 goals above expected in 13 starts through Nov. 19. Jonathan Quick was just as impressive, recording steals in two of his first four starts. On Nov. 9, for instance, Quick saved 4.21 goals above expected in the Rangers’ 4-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings — one of this season’s top individual performances.
Shesterkin and Quick held up as best they could, but the Rangers’ porous defensive play has caught up to them during their 2-8-0 skid. Over the past 10 games, Shesterkin and Quick have stopped 81.2 per cent of slot shots on net (23rd) — down from 87.5 per cent over New York’s first 17 games (second). Without that safety net, the Rangers’ flaws have been exposed.
“It’s not easy, but we try to stay together,” Panarin told reporters after the loss to the Blackhawks. “All of us are in the same situation. We’re in the same boat. We’ve got to (climb out) of that hole together.”
Trouba’s departure freed up $8 million in cap space, giving the Rangers much-needed flexibility to bolster the roster. But Drury could also decide to continue gutting it if the team keeps struggling.
“I’m certainly not opposed to making more changes,” Drury told reporters Saturday. “But … the team has been through a lot the last couple of weeks and certainly this week. I’d like to let the dust settle a little bit.”
