As the Rangers return to action tonight in Tampa Bay, there’s an air of pessimism surrounding this team. And with good reason. But not everything is bad in Rangerland, despite the last place Rangers. There are a few things going right for the Rangers, even if we don’t want to focus on them right now. It’s easy to go with the flow and say blow up the Rangers, but that would overlook some positives, and again, yes there are some positives.
1. Goaltending
As per usual, goaltending is one of the things going right for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin is the constant for the Rangers. It’s easy and, let’s be real, very lazy to look at his traditional numbers and say he’s having a good season. A 2.91 GAA doesn’t look good, after all. But his .913 SV% is on par with the last two seasons. Shesterkin is rarely the problem.
Shesterkin has basically been saving the Rangers from themselves, though he can’t really do it alone. The red bar is the quality of the product in front of him, and as expected, it’s pretty bad. But Shesterkin is continually outperforming the Rangers, and is basically the only reason why the penalty kill looks good. Shesterkin (and Jonathan Quick) is one of the only things going right for the Rangers this season.
2. The kids are alright
Will Cuylle, Brett Berard, and Filip Chytil have been excellent for the Rangers this season. They are the reason why the bottom six looks so good, giving the Rangers a dangerous tertiary scoring line while also being the only line that consistently forechecks, forces turnovers, and turns them into scoring chances. In fact, the entire bottom six is a bright spot and probably one of the only things going right for the Rangers among the skaters.
Speaking of the full bottom six, Adam Edstrom sure has been solid, hasn’t he? Sam Carrick is getting the headlines as the far more effective Barclay Goodrow in the lineup, but it’s been Edstrom who has been the stabilizing force on the fourth line. He’s good with the puck, a solid skater, and brings to the ice what everyone thinks Matt Rempe brings.
The Rangers have a pair of rookies and a second year pro stealing the spotlight. No matter what that says about the top-six and the stars, the bottom six is one of the things going right for the Rangers.
3. Zac Jones
Full disclosure: I struggled to find a third for this post, so I separated out Zac Jones as one of the things going right for the Rangers. I know, it’s mildly misleading, but he’s not a forward, so technically this works. Carry on.
Jones, when he actually plays, has been a much needed injection of skill and skating onto a blue line that desperately needs it. When he’s out there, he’s effective, he moves the puck well, and he’s solid in his third pairing role. It’s not his fault he’s short.
Naturally with two big trades in the books, the coaching staff is playing the new guys to get a feel for them. So Jones is the scratch as the team figures out what they have in both Urho Vaakanainen and Will Borgen. There are a few reasons for this, but the low hanging fruit with that duo is they are both pending UFAs and the Rangers may need to flip them at the deadline if they are sellers. It’s unlikely Jones gets flipped.
Still, Jones has been quietly effective and the team has looked better–bar is on the floor, I know–with him in the lineup. Jones is one of the things going right for the Rangers, even in limited appearances.
