New York Rangers: Behind the numbers of a poor start
Looking behind the numbers to attempt to identify the cause of the New York Rangers poor start.
We know the state of the New York Rangers thus far. They have not been good. Eight points in 12 games is a horrible start. They flash with a shutout and get back to their losing ways. The Rangers haven’t even been able to reel off back-to-back wins yet. They brought in new faces and said good bye to some of the old, but they have not been able to put it together yet.
They are going to have to get there. It’s a win now team. This core, based around the likes of Henrik Lundqvist and Rick Nash, are not getting any younger. It’s time to get it together. Yes it’s a long season but they don’t get these early games back either. So, what’s going on with the Rangers? Where do the problems lie?
You all know what they say about the numbers. They don’t lie. So we decided to take a look at the NHL website and see where the numbers fall off.
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The first is simply looking at the average goals per game. The Rangers are ranked 21st in the league with an average of 2.83 goals per game. That will never cut it. The Rangers have to start finding the back of the net.
Rick Nash has hit the back of the net twice thus far, and the same for Mats Zuccarello. Michael Grabner was second on the team in goals last year, but he has only put up three to date. The Rangers goal scorers must get going. There are no two ways about it.
What else is going on with this team? A couple of categories checked out as interesting. For example, the Rangers are thirteenth in faceoff win percentage at 51.4%. That is going to relate directly to time of possession and ice time. Win more faceoffs and there will be more scoring chances.
Next: Victory over the Coyotes was a good sign for the Rangers
The other major category that jumps off the page is on special teams. Specifically I am talking about penalty killing. The Rangers penalty killing rate is 77.8% which is tied for 24th in the NHL. To put it simply, the Rangers have allowed a goal nearly once every four times being shorthanded. That’s a problem. For the Broadway Blueshirts to be successful, that number is going to have to come way up.
Thank goodness it’s a long season.