In the concluding chapter of the original Star Wars trilogy Return of the Jedi, the Rebellion seeks to destroy a second Death Star as they are constructing it. The thought was that its planet-destroying ray wasn't fully operational as the Rebellion attacks, only for the Emperor to use the Death Star laser to destroy several Rebel ships. It was a surprise, but it couldn't destroy a planet like the first one. The New York Rangers are the perfect allegory for the second Death Star as they find themselves at the top of the Eastern Conference (and NHL last week). The first season under Peter Laviolette has gone EXCEEDINGLY well, but they are FAAAAAAAAAAAR from a finished product.
While the Rangers have allowed 51 Goals with only the LA Kings ahead of them, the Blueshirts' 69 Goals For aren't as glowing of a stat; putting them in the middle of the pack of the league. This is after hanging 7 goals on the Boston Bruins. Where are their problems? 5-on-5 play. The Rangers have 40 goals (tied for 25th) at 5-on-5 (tying them with offensive juggernauts Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks). Most of the problem stems from their top line of Mika Zibanejad-Chris Kreider-(whoever on RW wing) not performing well at even strength. Chris Kreider has broken out over the last few years to match the scoring Mika Zibanejad put out in recent years. Of the 18 goals scored by Kreider and Zibanejad, only 7 are at Even Strength. That number needs to be higher, like in previous seasons. At 5-on-5 last season, Kreider had 24 goals, and Zibanejad had 18. All of this while trying to figure out who can play the right wing for them, a revolving door since the departure of Pavel Buchnevich. Fortunately, Artemi Panarin has been electric at 5-on-5 with 18 of his 31 points coming at 5-on-5.
Oddly, one player that's underperformed this season is goaltender Igor Shesterkin. The 27-year-old Vezina Trophy winner began the season with a .905 Save % in October, but his .923% in November has raised his Save Percentage to .915%. In his wins, Shesterkin has a .943 Save % with a 1.65 GAA in his 9 wins, but a .848 Save % with a 4.90 GAA in his 4 losses. Though the concern is subsiding after his stellar 36-save performance on Black Friday, springboarding him back into the elite goaltender he is believed to be. It's a good thing the Rangers got production from Jonathan Quick, who didn't look like he'd be anywhere near this productive in the preseason.
The offense from the backend is one place where the Rangers have GREATLY improved this season. Last season, 7 Rangers' defensemen recorded a point, with Adam Fox leading the way with 25 points. K'Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba were tied in second place with 8 points. THIS SEASON, even with the injury to Adam Fox, the Rangers have three defensemen with 10 points or more (Fox, Miller, and Gustafsson), and fourth-place Jacob Trouba has 9 points. With Fox returning, it's only fair to think he'll boost the Blueshirts' point production, the Rangers' top 5 defensemen sport plus ratings on the season. Only their bottom pairing is negative, which could improve with 15-point defenseman Erik Gustafsson moving back down to the bottom pair.
So, as the New York Rangers sit at the top of the Eastern Conference, it's a scary thought that they're more of the ship-destroying Death Star than the planet-destroying Death Star. Is it good to have these problems now while in first place? That's for Peter Laviolette and Chris Drury to answer while accruing points toward the trade deadline, but it was much tougher to destroy the first Death Star than the seond one.
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