3 reasons the New York Rangers are Stanley Cup contenders
By Jackie Daly
2. Rangers special teams rank in the top 10
Aside from consistent full-strength play, having strong special teams is just another piece of the puzzle to get to championship status. Is it required? No. Is it helpful? Incredibly so.
To look first at the power play, the New York Rangers currently (and have consistently) been ranked second in the league at 29%. Their 38 PP goals rank fourth behind the Colorado Avalanche (Cup winners 2022), Tampa Bay Lightning (Cup winners 2020, 2021), and the Carolina Hurricanes (no recent Cup, but have had recent playoff runs).
That is not to say that yes, look at history and a good PP will mean a Cup, but it certainly can help. Eight players on the roster have notched a goal on the man advantage, the leader being winger Chris Kreider with nine. Then there's center Vincent Trocheck and the aforementioned Panarin each with eight and center Mika Zibanejad with six.
On the other side of special teams is the penalty kill where the Rangers are also in the top 10 at 83%, which ranks ninth in the league. If you look at the shorthanded goals allowed this season, the Rangers are towards the bottom of the list with only four. They also rank towards the bottom in shorthanded goals scored with three, but essentially they are fairly good at keeping the pucks from getting to the net when they are a man short.
If they can keep their PP and PK in the top 10 for the rest of the regular season, this will help for a deep run in the playoffs. A Cup will come with consistency.