Many were skeptical of the New York Rangers offseason moves that saw them move out skilled players in favor of becoming ‘tougher’ to play against. If early season results are any indication, the Rangers are proving the skeptics wrong. Let’s take a deeper look at the Rangers early season to see if their success looks sustainable.
Grades
Comments
Record
The Rangers have opened the 21/22 season strong, posting a 6-2-2 record through their first 10 games, good enough to put them in second in a deep Metropolitan Division. Their strong start has given them an edge over most other teams in the division when we look at the full season projections.
Even Strength Offense
The Rangers have struggled to generate offense at 5v5 so far this season. Their expected goals for rate is a measly 1.95, ranked 28th in the league. Poor finishing has exacerbated the problem, with the Blueshirts scoring at a paltry rate of 1.57 G/60. Looking at individual output, only Sammy Blais and Adam Fox are currently outperforming their projected point rates. The Rangers need a few more skaters to find their offensive stride.
Even Strength Defense
The Rangers defense has been keeping them in games, despite their anemic offensive output. Defensively, they’ve been decent, sporting an expected goals against rate that ranks near the middle of the league. Goaltending has been the real difference maker, with a goals saved above expected rate that brings their actual goals against rate into the top five league wide.
Defensively, the fourth line has been leading the way with the lowest one-ice expected goals against rates. Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Strome also rank in the top 5 Ranger forwards. K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba have formed a solid defensive pair through the early season, leading the Rangers defensemen in expected goals against rate. The only significant problem at this point has been the third pair, with Nils Lundqvist and Patrick Nemeth currently sitting well above their projected expected goals against rates.
Igor Shesterkin has been dialed in to start the season and is a big part of the Rangers success. Backup Alex Georgiev has two games under his belt and has also been solid when called upon.
Powerplay
The Rangers’ powerplay has been generating expected goals at a better rate than their even strength offense. However, it’s been afflicted by the same poor finishing. Only 10 games into the season, it’s quite possible that poor percentage luck has been the culprit and it may improve over a larger sample of games.
Penalty Kill
The Rangers penatly kill has been good through the early season. With both expected goals against and actual goals against rates near the top third of the league.
Lineup Notes
The Rangers have been relatively healthy so far. Kappo Kakko and Ryan Reaves have been banged up and missed a few games, but the Rangers have avoided any serious long-term injuries thus far.
Up Next
- @ EDM
- @ CGY
- vs FLA
- @ CBJ
- vs NJD
Season Projections
Check out the roster plots and player impact projections for the Rangers and the rest of the Metropolitan Division here and subscribe to follow more updates for the Rangers and from around the league throughout the season.
