The end last season was, obviously, a crushing disappointment. The Rangers bungled a two-game lead over the Devils in their first-round playoff series after months of lofty expectations and a trade deadline stuffed with boldface names.
But perhaps the Blueshirts can get something useful out of that now, if they lean into the sting and use it to jolt their 2023-24 campaign, which begins Thursday night in Buffalo.
They are not the chic Stanley Cup pick they were a year ago, but their championship window should still be open.
Can new head coach Peter Laviolette, who replaced Gerard Gallant, draw more out of a talented group? Can Laviolette instill more “jam” in a team that sometimes tilts more to skill?
We shall see. It may take some time for the Rangers to fully form – they are still learning the Laviolette systems – but they have many of the right pieces to be a huge factor in the Eastern Conference this season. Maybe beyond, too.
Imagine what a story that would be in this 30th anniversary season of their last Stanley Cup?
WHAT THE RANGERS HAVE GOING FOR THEM
From the goalmouth to the blue line to the offensive zone, the Rangers boast star power. Goalie Igor Shesterkin is otherworldly – how else to describe someone who had a 2.48 goals against average in what was widely considered a “down” year after he copped the Vezina Trophy the previous season? He followed that up with a 1.96 mark in the playoffs. Not bad.
Defenseman Adam Fox, a perennial Norris Trophy candidate, is the big name of a defense that helped the Rangers be fourth-best in the NHL, allowing only 2.63 goals per game. Their top-four can be effective and includes hard-hitting captain Jacob Trouba, K’Andre Miller, whose long reach can flummox attackers, and Ryan Lindgren. Newcomer Erik Gustafsson offers puck-moving skills.
Mika Zibanejad (39 goals) and Chris Kreider (36 goals, plus six more in the playoffs) were last season’s top scorers and figure to be in that mix again, along with Artemi Panarin (29 goals). Panarin, though, struggled to contribute in the playoffs, notching only two assists. Blake Wheeler, brought in after he was bought out in Winnipeg, could serve as a nice setup man.
Fox pilots a power play that ranked seventh at 24.08 percent last season and is a big factor on offense in general. “He’s elusive with his game and the puck,” Laviolette said. “He’s shifty and he’s able to find time and space and see plays and see things that maybe others don’t see as quickly or don’t see at all.”
He also helps the leadership corps and was added as an alternate captain this season, joining a roster that also includes Barclay Goodrow, Kreider, Panarin and Zibanejad. Last year, the front office brought in Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, among others, so the Rangers can get midseason help to attempt a run.
THEY’LL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS IF…
They might get there if the stars are the stars and Shesterkin is “him” again. But it sure would help if the kids broke out, too. There’s a lot of draft capital tied up in Alexis Lafreniere (first overall pick), Kaapo Kakko (second overall) and Filip Chytil (21st) and while they’ve advanced in recent seasons, it hasn’t been the lightning bolt that most expected, particularly for Lafreniere and Kakko.
But they are still young and maybe all those veteran leaders can help them find new levels. Kakko (22 years old), in particular, was praised by Laviolette during training camp. “He looked very good to me,” the coach said. “He had a very good camp. I’d like to see the confidence grow with that.” Chytil (24) had career-bests in goals (22) and points (45) last season. Lafreniere, who turns 22 the day before the season opener, struggled in the preseason, though.
There’s also this: In the recent past, the Rangers, perhaps, have sought out the extra pass too often. It looks great on highlight clips when it works, but maybe they’d score more if they were more north-south in their attack and got more shots – they were 16th in shots on goal last season.
After the final preseason loss, Laviolette noted that there were too many east-west moments on the attack. “I think that’s something that we can continue to work at and talk about in the offensive zone, off the rush, just playing a bit more” north-south, he said.
THEY’LL MISS THE PLAYOFFS IF…
Annual disclaimer here: If Shesterkin gets hurt and is out for an extended time, the Rangers are in deep trouble. Duh. It does not help that new backup Jonathan Quick, who turns 38 in January, had a 5.08 GAA and an .807 save percentage in three preseason outings.
The Devils made the Rangers look slow and disengaged at times during their seven-game battle last spring. Can Laviolette, who preaches harder practices than Gallant did, develop enough Blueshirt sandpaper to slow down speedy teams like New Jersey?
Finally, the preseason is the preseason and the numbers generated therein are mostly meaningless. Maybe. The Rangers’ special teams are a work-in-progress, yes. But they did not perform well as the team went 1-5 in preseason. They allowed six power play goals in 15 chances (a 60 percent penalty-kill rate) and only scored once in 21 power-play chances of their own. Were both a function of learning Laviolette’s system and him mixing combinations? Or a harbinger of what could lead to big disappointment this year?
RECORD AND PREDICTION
Laviolette is 48 victories away from becoming the seventh NHL coach ever with 800 wins. We think he gets it with a 48-21-13 record, one win better than last season. The Rangers still will finish third in the rugged Metropolitan Division behind the Carolina Hurricanes and the Devils.
The real results are in the playoffs, though, aren’t they?
The Rangers are the sixth team Laviolette has coached and he’s coaxed improvements at multiple stops in his first year. If the Rangers thrive in his system, they’ll be the team that wins a tough first-round series this time. And they’re certainly talented enough to dream about going further, too.
