New York Rangers midseason report card

The New York Rangers have had a very up and down season. They have started the season off 14-15-2 and looks to be completely out of the playoff picture. They sit last in the Metropolitan Division with 30 points.

The team has been inconsistent and so have some of the members of their top six. Some of that inconsistency has been due to inconsistency. Some of it has even been due to poor–and sometimes horrific–coaching by Martin Auzins.

But there have been a lot of bright spots too. The Rangers are a very young team with a pretty young top-six with loads of potential.

FORWARD LINES:

                      LW #16 Max Domi                                     C #18 Byan Little                                     RW #28 Elias Lindholm

                            LW #93 Sam Bennett                                   C #13 Kevin Hayes                                  RW #43 Tom Wilson

     LW #28 Zemgus Girgensons                           C #21 Nick Bjugtsad                            RW #64 Nail Yakupov

   LW #17 Jamie McGinn                                C #44 Nate Thompson                                RW #26 Steve Bernier

Bryan Little came out of the gates on fire for the Rangers. The newly appointed first line center has scored 14 goals and 13 assists in his first 27 games of the season. He was playing great hockey in all three zones and offensively. And then he suffered an injury.

In his second season in the league, Max Domi currently ranks eight on the team in points with 12 through 26 games. His points per game numbers have slipped this year due to Martin Auzins ignorantly scorching his productivity by moving him up and down the lineup.

The big Dorchester, Massachusetts native Kevin Hayes is on pace to score 44 points this season which would be his career best. With that said, Hayes has been using his body much better than in years past on the forecheck and to protect the puck.

Jimmy Vesey has been an interesting case this season. He is a player with some high end skill, but not enough to be a legitimate threat as a top six player. In that sense, he has what makes a perfect Ranger bottom six forward: skill and determination. What he has lacked as a defensive forward he makes up for in puck handling and board work. He isn’t the greatest shot suppressor or turnover creator, but he forechecks hard and chips in offense in front of the net with regularity, enough to make him a solid presence on the third line.

One issue for the Rangers in the first half of the season was the defense. That struggle will most likely continue into the second half of the season.

Some of the Rangers defensemen have been better than others. Frequent lineup changes left the pairings to find little consistency so far this season.

Looking back on the first half of the season, it is clear that the Rangers defense will have to improve if they want to keep a playoff spot. 

DEFENSE PAIRINGS:

D #27 Ryan McDonagh                                  D #59 Roman Josi

D #74 Jaccob Slavin                                  D #19 Jake McCabe

       D #71 John Michael Liles                         D #88 Brandon Davidson

Out of the starting six defensemen, captain Ryan McDonagh has been one of the better players this season. However, he has not been playing up to expectations.

His 20 points in 31 games played can be deceiving. In other categories, McDonagh is nearing career-lows. His plus/minus is also at a career low at minus-15. While McDonagh hasn’t had a particularly horrible season so far, he hasn’t been playing particularly well. Remaining effects from injury may be factors in his play. If the Rangers want to succeed, McDonagh must play better.

While the words “sophomore slump” do not accurately describe Jaccob Slavin, he is not playing as well as last season. Having said that, none of the Rangers’ defensemen are playing as well. Slavin has arguably been the best defenseman for the Rangers this season, though.

After an impressive rookie campaign, Slavin had to prove he could have another strong season. He has taken on a top role in the defensive core this season. Only Ryan McDonagh and Roman Josi average more ice time than him and only McDonagh and Josi have more points than him as well.

When McDonagh was injured, Slavin stepped up and helped fill his role in the top pairing. While it won’t be a regular occurrence, for now, it is a bright sign for the future of the Rangers defense.

His plus/minus isn’t too high at plus-three, and he has been on the ice for the same amount of goals for as against.

The decline in Slavin’s performance could be due to the decline in the entire defense. The rest of the season will be a test to see if he can keep this up, and perhaps get better.

Roman Josi signed with the Rangers as a free agent this summer. This blockbuster deal led to many expectations for him. He was expected to help quarterback the Rangers struggling power play.

In the beginning of the season, Josi seemed to follow through on those expectations. The power play was successful, and he was contributing both on offense and defense.

Josi still leads the defense in points with 24. Of those 24 points, 15 of them came on the powerplay. But his production has slowed since the season started. 

His plus/minus is also the worst of the Rangers defensemen at minus-15. 

He will be one of the keys to the team’s success going forward.