Site MapFink: The Rangers Were Poised to Fail
They won the Presidents’ Trophy but their weaknesses were exposed in the Eastern Conference Final
The New York Rangers were eliminated over the weekend as they fell to the Florida Panthers in six games in the Eastern Conference Final. It’s easy to think about what went wrong but the reality is that this team wasn’t as good as we anticipated.
They had the best record in the NHL season, going 55-23-4 to win the Presidents’ Trophy. However, it was clear they weren’t the better team in the conference final. The Panthers outplayed them in a series that became one-sided quickly. The Rangers lost the final three games of the series and only scored five goals in those games.
The Rangers Elite Players Fell Off When it Mattered
Alexis Lafreniere scored four goals while Vincent Trocheck added two goals and four assists to the offense. Otherwise, the offense was non-existent. The Rangers had an offense built to carry them to the Stanley Cup and it fell flat.
● Artemi Panarin scored 49 goals and 71 assists this season. He only found the back of the net once in the series.
● Mika Zibanejad was one of their best skaters in the playoffs with three goals and 13 assists. He only had two assists against the Panthers.
● Chris Kreider is a great scorer, arguably the best in the Rangers franchise history. He disappeared with only one goal in the six games.
The Rangers needed a spark from their offense and never got it. It’s one thing for the depth skaters to struggle in the playoffs but the star players, the ones expected to carry them failed to generate much offense, if any.
Shesterkin Could Only Do So Much
Without goaltender Igor Shesterkin, there’s a case to be made that the Rangers aren’t in the series and possibly nowhere near the top of the Eastern Conference.
This season, he had a .912 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.58 goals-against average (GAA) on 1606 shots with 14.2 goals saved above average (GSAA). In the playoffs, he had a .926 SV% and a 2.34 GAA on 524 shots with 10.6 GSAA and the recent series was his best one of them all. He saved 186 of the 200 shots he faced.
The reality is that the goaltender, even when they play at a high level, can only help to a point. The offense must step up and in the Rangers case, it didn’t. Likewise, the defense needs to give the goaltender some breaks and the Rangers never gave Shesterkin any.
This idea is why some teams are rethinking the position as a whole. Goaltending raises a team’s floor but skaters raise the ceiling. The past two teams to win the Cup did so with good but not great goaltenders but they had great skaters around their roster. With this in mind, the question must be asked if it’s worth investing in the position instead of other positions.
The Rangers Ran Out of Gas
By Game 5 and Game 6, the Rangers looked like a tired team that couldn’t skate or move the puck with the same burst as early on in the series. It played into the hands of the Panthers, who sapped the energy out of them.
The playoffs require a team to win with speed and physicality. The Panthers set the tone with their forecheck and hard-hitting and the Rangers couldn’t keep up. It makes adding that presence a big need this offseason.
Where The Rangers Go From Here
There are two ways to look at the Rangers after this playoff exit. Either they are right on the doorstep of winning the Cup and have all the pieces in place to get over the hump next season. Or, this was the best chance that they would get, and in a season where everything went their way, they still came up short.
A lot went the Rangers way this season and a regression is likely. That said, they have a core in place that will give them a chance every season. Panarin, Zibanejad, Shesterkin, and defenseman Adam Fox will at the very least, make them a playoff team. The question is if they have the pieces to get over the hump.
