Rangers off to Hot Start thanks to Offense
The New York Rangers brought in several new faces in the offseason, first by trading beloved center Derrick Brassard to the Ottawa Senators for Mika Zibanejad. They signed Harvard graduate Jimmy Vesey, after he declined to sign with the Nashville Predators, the team that originally drafted him in 2012. They grabbed free agents Michael Grabner and Brandon Pirri, from Toronto and Anaheim, respectively. They traded with Colorado to get defenseman Nick Holden, among other new arrivals. The new guys have been a godsend for New York this season. The Rangers are off to a 6-3-0 start to the season (12 pts), are tied for first in the NHL in goals scored this season (35), and are first in goals per game (3.89). Much of this success can be contributed to the chemistry that the 4 lines have had this season. 23-year-old forward JT Miller leads the team with 9 points in 9 games this year, looking to build on his breakout year last season, where he scored a career-high 22 goals. Fresh arrival Mika Zibanejad is tied with captain Ryan McDonagh for second on the team in scoring, with 8 points. Rick Nash is shaking off his atrocious year last season, and has 4 goals and 7 points. Two guys are tied for the team lead in goals, and guess what? They’re both new arrivals. Michael Grabner and rookie Jimmy Vesey lead the team with 5 goals each this season.
The offense has been absolutely terrific for the Rags so far, with everybody chipping in. That’s the real key here, the scoring has been extremely spread out. Vesey and Grabner lead with 5 goals each, followed by Nash, Mats Zuccarello, and Brandon Pirri with 4 each, and then Miller and Chris Kreider each with 3. The team has become so deep, and anybody is a threat to score at any time.
It’s not only new faces contributing, though. Mats Zuccarello has been brilliant so far, with 4 goals ad 7 points, and so has Chris Kreider (3-4–7) and the previously mentioned Rick Nash. The team’s captain, Ryan McDonagh, hasn’t found the back of the net yet, but has assisted on 8 goals, good for tops on the team. How about Kevin Hayes though? The youngster out of Boston College turned heads his rookie year by putting up 45 points, and shooting 15.3%. However, he had a sophomore slump, and recorded only 36 points, with his shooting percentage dipping to 10.5%. After being publicly criticized by coach Alain Vigneault, he’s stepped up his play this season. Hayes has 2-4–6, and is shooting 15.4%, which would be even higher than his rookie campaign if he keeps that up.
The Rangers did a really great job of getting the right guys in the offseason. They didn’t go out and try to pry Steven Stamkos away from Tampa or anything, but they played it smart and signed guys who fit their scheme and their needs. This includes power-play specialist Brandon Pirri. They picked up Pirri after he spent last season in Anaheim and Florida, where he never really stood out. That’s changed here in New York, as he’s already recorded 4 goals and 2 assists in 9 games. He’s netted two of those on the power-play, and he works brilliantly out there.
Michael Grabner has been able to rejuvenate himself here in New York, and already looks so, so much better than he did last year with the Maple Leafs. He played in 80 games, but only recorded 9 goals and 9 assists all year. Well, he already has over half of his goal total from last season, and in just 9 games. With his hat trick against Tampa Bay on Sunday, he now has 5 goals and an assist on the year.
I think that one thing the Rangers have done is create a more balanced approach to the offensive attack. They’re rolling out a great mix of scorers and playmakers. The top line consists of scorer Jimmy Vesey, playmaker Derek Stepan, and scorer Rick Nash. The second line has three guys who can make plays and score goals, with Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Mats Zuccarello. The third line, with Kevin Hayes, Michael Grabner, and JT Miller, has been tremendous all year, especially on Sunday’s win vs Tampa, where all 3 players each had 3 points.
The one thing that hasn’t been tremendous is Henrik Lundqvist. He has a .901 save % with a 2.45 GAA. It’s a big step down for a guy who has a career save percentage of .920%. That being said, after starting horrendously, he did play a lot better in the 3-game stretch against Washington, Arizona, and Boston, all of which were wins. But he had a tough night in the loss against Carolina late last week, allowing 3 goals on 21 shots. If he keeps playing like he did during that mini 3-game win streak, he’ll be good to go. But if he keeps struggling like he has in all his other starts, Rangers fans could be in for a frustrating season in that regard.