The Kitchener Rangers have 10 games left on their regular-season schedule. With the playoffs just around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to take a temperature check of Ranger Nation.
I asked for any comments, questions, or concerns on social media as we head into the home stretch, so I can share my thoughts, add context, and maybe bring some clarity on anything related to the team.
Let’s dive into what people are saying about the East Avenue Blue.
Kitchener Rangers’ Dominance at The Aud
The first comment back on my post simply said “(five) home games left,” and it led me down a rabbit hole.
In their final 10 games, the Rangers have a perfect split, five games at home and five on the road. They currently sit with a 22-5-0-1 record on home ice this season.
An impressive record that could wind up being the Rangers’ best record at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium since 2007-2008, when they went 28-4-1-1.
With just five games remaining on home ice, the Rangers would need to sweep all five against the Brampton Steelheads, London Knights, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Owen Sound Attack, and Flint Firebirds to come within one point of the 2007-08 record
There is lots of quality competition left to challenge the Rangers before they gear up for the playoffs.
Side note: By my math (which I’m not very good at), the Rangers are 430-189-30-22 at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium since 2005-06. That’s a 64% win percentage, incredibly impressive over a 20-year span with how much turnover there is in this league.
Stay Safe & Stay Smart
While we’re on the topic of quality competition, along with those home games against the Knights, Greyhounds, Attack, and Firebirds, the Rangers also play the Windsor Spitfires, Guelph Storm, and the Attack again on the road in these last 10.
That’s seven playoff teams remaining on the Rangers’ schedule if the bracket started today. We’re approaching the ‘message sending’ part of the season, which is really just a euphemism for ‘inflict as much pain as possible’.
While I am not concerned with the Rangers being pushed around, as they’ve physically dominated nearly every game since the trade deadline, the Rangers don’t need to do anything extra; their play does the talking and sends enough of a message on its own.
We’ve seen it when the Spitfires mentally collapsed in a game the Rangers won 7-2, and when the Rangers waved the Knights goodbye in front of the home crowd. Spencer Wolfe said it best on Twitter/X, “Just stay healthy and away from the suspensions.”
Are the Rangers the Hottest team in the OHL?
Going back even further than the trade deadline, the Rangers have been as hot as anybody. Since Dec. 13, they have a 22-2-1-2 record.
However, if we are talking about the hottest team right now, I think you’d have to give that up to the Barrie Colts. They’re on a 10-game winning streak and, in their last five games, have beaten the Brantford Bulldogs and the Ottawa 67’s by three or more goals. They’ve also scored 30 goals in their last five games. The Rangers are close, but the Colts are firing on all cylinders currently.
A Mix of Concerns
I had a couple of rebuttals to my article claiming the Rangers’ preseason goaltending concerns are gone. Shockingly, there was also a mix of comments, saying the offence hasn’t been good enough, as well as a comment about the blue line.
Related: Kitchener Rangers’ Goaltending Has Alleviated Any Preseason Concerns
However, the mix of comments expressing concern about different aspects of the team suggests they don’t have a glaring weakness. People obviously see the game differently and have different opinions, so when there is a consensus on the weakness, that’s typically a bad thing. However, when the concerns are spread out, that’s not so worrying, at least from the perspective of a team leading the Western Conference.
My thoughts very much align with Ethaniel Reimerio, who commented on Facebook saying, “We have close to the second-best defence in the league and a top-six offence, with great leaders and people who work for all 60 minutes.” I
just think expectations may be too high if there’s a lot of concern about this team, because they’ve played near-perfect hockey since mid-December.
The “Shoot The Puck” Crowd
The one comment I was truly surprised to see criticized the Rangers’ shot volume, considering they have routinely been in the mid-30s on most nights since the trade deadline.
But to an extent, I can understand the point. With how much the Rangers have dominated the puck, realistically, they could probably put up 50 shots a night if they were a team that funnelled everything to the net.
However, I think the shift to teams prioritizing puck possession over shot-attempt volume warrants more discussion. Hockey has changed a ton in recent years, with NHL teams really starting to understand that the best way to defend is to control the puck as much as possible.
Really, it’s simple. If you have it, your opponent can’t score, and the quickest way to give the puck back is simply giving it up. Most long shots will result in a frozen puck and a faceoff, or a rebound somewhere, which will most likely lead to a puck battle. It’s virtually a coin flip on whether you’ll get possession back or not.
As fans of the game, we need to adjust to the times and understand that the number-one goal has shifted to keeping possession of the puck rather than trying to create as many chances as possible (other teams around the OHL try to do the latter, which results in games looking like track meets, rather than structured, controlled hockey which the Rangers play).
With that said, I will agree: there are times when passes aren’t connecting as usual, and the Rangers are slow to adjust to just creating pressure the old-fashioned way by funnelling pucks. Not so much recently, though, with how hot the Rangers’ stars have been.
Side note: If you want to learn about this from someone much more qualified than I am, Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery spoke on the PDOcast about the puck-possession shift in hockey. He is well worth the listen on this topic.
The Rangers are in a great spot heading into the home stretch of the season. I appreciate all the comments and questions. We’ll check back in once the Rangers are gearing up for their first-round matchup.
