What The Hell Is Wrong With The New York Rangers?

"They suck."

Yeah I know that. But why?

Well I can certainly tell you why not. First of all, it's not Hank despite some ugly overall numbers. The defense in front of him has been abysmal - no other starter has faced more lopsided even-strength pressure than he has. 37 scoring chances against & 18 high-danger chances per-60 both rank dead last. Second-worst is 31 & 13. Despite his teammates being nothing more than an audience in front of him, he's still posting an even-strength save percentage of 93%. That's better than Vas, Price & MAF. Taking it one step further, Lundqvist ranks third-best in GSAA. With an average netminder, the Blueshirts would be ceding another goal per game than a "washed up" King has allowed. When shorthanded, more than half the chances he sees are high-danger and that's where his stat line has been pummeled. For context, only 5 other goalies face 40% or higher. His world-beating days may be over, but there's not many (if any) goalies who would fare much better backstopping this Rangers squad.

Adam Fox is exempt from responsibility as well. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that the highly-touted offensive defenseman been EXCELLENT as a rookie on a catastrophically poor defensive team and he's yet to get his name on the scoresheet. He's the definition of possession being the best defense. It's incredible to see how effortlessly he moves the puck to the right place every single time. His awareness is off the charts and he's got the hands to match his brain. How good has Foxy been? He's played 14 ES minutes next to Marc Staal and they have a 59% Corsi rating together.

That's right.

Adam Fox has Staal in the positive. Small sample size or not, that's a flat out miracle considering Staal's at TWENTY NINE percent without him. It sucks for Foxy to be burdened with the responsibility of protecting the league's worst (literally) defender, but as long as Staal's in the lineup there's no other option. I've never been a huge fancy stats guy unless they point out significant differences. On an awful team, Fox is one of the best in the entire NHL. Whenever Staal is put to pasture and he gets even a mediocre partner the points will come. For now, how about giving him a crack at right-side PK2 over forward extraordinaire Brendan Smith?

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Really makes you wonder when the Marc Staal era comes to an end. I understand the allegiance but that can only go so far. He's made every defender he's partnered with exponentially worse besides Fox and, if kept together as a pair, will certainly hamper his offensive production. I've towed the company line long enough saying I legitimately thought Staal could be a serviceable veteran third-pair guy. Well I'm an idiot. Through six games I'd give anything to even have last year's version back. Put him in the press box. Call up Lindgren. If Lindgren can't pick up the PK minutes, let Smith play his same shorthanded role except on the left side with Fox jumping up on the right. Presto. Addition by subtraction. I know Staal is an easy punching bag and I know this is wishful thinking - but whether the goal is winning or player development, the Rangers are closer to both with Staal as a spectator. Quinn will never truly know what he's got in his young defense while it's hampered by the heaviest anchor in the league.

The biggest disappointment thus far has been up front. Mika & Artemi have been carrying the load while neither Buchnevich or Kreider could stick on their wing. So who gets next crack? None other than the Rangers even strength primary point leader - Jesper Fast. With line juggling happening on a game-to-game basis who knows how long this trio stays together but it does make some sense. 93 & 10 have been a two-man show. Putting a defensively responsible, forechecking winger who's going to free up more pucks to their sticks makes a more well-rounded top line without sacrificing any offense. The lingering issue is whether or not any other lines plan on contributing this season.

So far, the answer is a resounding NO. More forwards have yet to score than those who have. Strome's 2C experiment was a flop with Quinn inexplicably giving Brett Howden the next crack over former 7th overall pick Lias Andersson. Coach really loves him some Howden and I do too - but as a bottom-six piece. Apparently last year's 35-game goalless drought & 15 points over his final 52 games wasn't enough to dissuade Quinn promoting him to a scoring role. Lias hasn't shown much for himself but hasn't been given nearly the same opportunity despite a higher ceiling at both ends of the ice. Chytil is still the projected long-term solution, but until his day comes are we never gonna see what Andersson can do? Seems like now's as good a time as it's gonna get.

Someone's gotta figure out a way to get the Killer K's going though. Kreider & Kakko have a lone goal between them and if they're not producing there's really not much after them besides Buchnevich. We all had high hopes for Kakko coming into the year and obviously 6 games haven't changed that - but he's certainly playing like an 18 year-old kid making his NHL debut. That's not necessarily a bad thing. He's getting his fair share of shots on net, but the second overall pick simply needs to make his puck-moving decisions a tick quicker against the best players in the world. With the offense struggling as a whole it's fairly obvious Kakko is looking to make the perfect play rather than the first play. I'm hardly worried. As for Kreider, it's been a while since he hasn't had the luxury of top-billing with an established center. Outside of flat-out dusting the opposition in a foot race it's hard to imagine Kreids producing much offense without one for however long he's got left in a Rangers sweater. Tough spot for the rookie to be in, but second-line production seems contingent on Kakko taking over.

It's hard to expect much from the bottom six but we're six tilts in without goals from Strome, Lemieux or any 4th liner. This is simply way too top-heavy an offense to be able to compete while being bombarded in their own zone. As one of the youngest teams in the league you could understand defensive shortcomings. The longer the overall offensive ineptitude continues though, the more it'll make me wonder. Buch, Howden, Lias, Lemieux...yeah they're young.

But are they actually any good?