The New York Rangers have been one of the more interesting teams to follow so far this season. In 32 games, they have a 15-13-4 record, which gives them 34 points. They have been playing inconsistently, where they play great against top teams but poorly against teams they should be beating. Right now, the Rangers look like a mediocre team at best, and that is a problem.
Could Still Make the Playoffs in a Weak Eastern Conference
One good thing for the Rangers is that, despite their mediocrity, the Eastern Conference is very close right now and it doesn’t look like that will be changing anytime soon. As of writing, the Rangers sit one point out of the second wild-card spot and are six points back of first in the Metropolitan Division. Even though they are very close to a playoff spot, they are currently seventh in the Metro with only the Columbus Blue Jackets below them (but only by two points).
This is why the Rangers playing so inconsistently is a problem: if they had a few more wins on home ice this season (they only have three), they could be at the top of the division and even at the top of the Eastern Conference. The top teams in the East only have 40 points, so if the Rangers had three more wins, they would be the top team in the East. Right now, they are lucky that the conference and divisions are as tight as they are. If it were like seasons past, where the top teams had separated themselves from the rest, the Rangers would be left in the dust.
The Lineup Is Not Built for Sustained Success
One major reason for the Rangers’ inconsistency is that they have been one of the league’s lowest-scoring teams. They have scored 83 goals this season, which is good for 28th in the entire league. On the contrary, they have given up 84 goals, which is good for 10th best in the league. If the Rangers could score more goals on a consistent basis, it would fix some of the problems they have been having. The issue for them is that their lineup as currently constructed is not built for sustained success. When the top players aren’t scoring, the lack of offensive depth in the lineup becomes more noticeable.
Related: Rangers’ Offensive Struggles in Sharp Focus With Adam Fox Out
Only two players have scored at least 10 goals this season: Mika Zibanejad (11) and Artemi Panarin (10). Vincent Trocheck, who missed 14 games due to injury, only has five goals in 18 games. J.T. Miller has struggled heavily this season, with just seven goals and 18 points in 30 games. Players who they hope would step up in Alexis Lafreniere and Will Cuylle only have seven and eight goals, respectively. Considering these players are on the top six, they need to produce more offense than they have.
Where Do the Rangers Go From Here?
The Rangers can still be a team that fights for a playoff spot this season. The first step in doing that is creating a deeper lineup. This means calling up Gabe Perreault from the American Hockey League (AHL) and letting him get more than three games at the NHL level to prove himself. The lineup was much more balanced when he was playing earlier this season, as it allowed them to use him in a top-six role and not players like Connor Sheary and Johnny Brodzinski, who have no business playing that high in the lineup. Letting Perreault get this experience will only help him grow his game and become the player the Rangers are hoping he will.
The team’s defense and goaltending have been excellent, so if the Rangers can figure out how to generate more offense, they can become a better team very quickly. That has been their Achilles’ heel, and since they did nothing to replace the goal scoring they got from the departed Chris Kreider, they should’ve known this was going to be a problem. The players they have on their top six are good, but they need to be better, and adding Perreault into that group will only make as such.
The Rangers have been frustrating to watch at times due to this inconsistency. At some points, they look like one of the top teams in the league, and at other times, they seem like a team that is more likely to get the first-overall pick than a playoff spot. Right now, they are a mediocre team at best, and this is an issue that could become an even bigger problem if that continues. The goal for this season was to get back to the playoffs, but at the rate they are playing now, it doesn’t seem that is likely to happen.
