Two of the biggest strengths for the New York Rangers over the past few seasons have been their power play and penalty kill. Last season, they finished third in the league on both the power play and penalty kill and this season will look to continue the trend of amazing special teams. They are coming back with a majority of the same roster that was here last season, so they should once again be at the top of the league in both areas once the season is over.
However, there has been some talk about maybe changing around some of the personnel on these units, in particular, changing around the power-play units to make them more balanced. In this piece, we are going to predict what both the power play and penalty kill units will look like when the Rangers open their season against the Pittsburgh Penguins in three weeks time.
Alexis Lafreniere Replaces Mika Zibanejad on First Power-Play Unit
Alexis Lafreniere finally had his breakout season in 2023-24, scoring 28 goals and 57 points in 82 games. He followed it up with an amazing playoff performance, scoring eight goals and 14 points in 16 games. He was able to produce these numbers without getting any time on the Rangers’ top power-play unit. Now, looking to build off of his success from last season, it only makes sense to finally give Lafreniere this time to see if he can truly take the next step. That means taking someone off the top unit and in this case, the easiest player to take off is Mika Zibanejad.
Zibanejad had a down year offensively last season and was not the offensive threat that he has been in seasons past. He is the easiest to replace on the top unit for a multitude of reasons. First, Vincent Trocheck takes the faceoffs and more often than not wins them and that gives the Rangers puck possession. Adam Fox is the quarterback on this unit and Artemi Panarin is too skilled to take off. Chris Kreider knows his role as the net-front presence and is a master at tipping pucks in.
Zibanejad’s one-timer has become less effective over the years and they already have three other right-handed players on this unit that they don’t need a fourth. It’s time to shake things up and give Lafreniere Zibanejad’s spot on the top power-play unit.
Who Gets on the Second Power-Play Unit?
When it comes to the second power-play unit, there are a few options to go with. First, Zibanejad will be the big name that will carry this unit and will be the big offensive weapon. For the quarterback, the two options they have are Zac Jones and Jacob Trouba. Jones is the more offensive-minded of the two and will have a better chance of making a good pass or getting a shot on goal. Trouba is the more experienced player and has played on the power-play in the past. For the third spot, Filip Chytil is the next name that comes to mind as he is a great offensive player and has a “shoot first” mentality that will be very beneficial on a power-play. The big question is who takes the last two spots on this unit?
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The one player that will likely get a spot is Reilly Smith. He is a good passer and has a good shot as well when he decides to use it. He will likely be starting the season on the first line with Kreider and Zibanejad, so getting him second-unit power-play time will also help him get adjusted to his new teammates and how they play. For the last spot, it comes down to Kaapo Kakko or Will Cuylle. For Kakko, he is a beast when it comes to puck possession and it would be hard to get the puck away from him when he gets it. He can be a good passer but also a net-front presence and use his size to his advantage.
Cuylle would also be good in that role since he is a bigger player and would be hard for the opposition to get him away from the front of the net. He can even try and be a younger version of Kreider and deflect pucks in front of the net. So my prediction is the second unit will be Zibanejad, Chytil, Smith, Kakko and Jones. If Brennan Othmann makes the team out of training camp, he could also be a name that could be on this second power-play unit.
Rangers’ Top PK Unit Is Zibanejad and Kreider
For the past three seasons, the duo of Zibanejad and Kreider have been amazing on the penalty kill. Kreider didn’t start killing penalties until the 2021-22 season and he has been one of the best in the league at scoring short-handed goals since then. He is tied with three other players for first in the entire league in short-handed goals with nine. He is also tenth on the Rangers’ all-time list for short-handed goals. Even when they are not scoring goals, they are very effective at staying in the opposition’s shooting lanes and they block shots and passes and eventually, get the puck out of the zone.
They will once again be the Rangers’ top penalty-killing unit going into this season and nothing should change from what they have been doing over the past few seasons. They will always be defensively responsible when they need to be, but they can transition to offense just as quickly when they get the opportunity. They should be considered one of, if not the best penalty-killing duos in the entire league.
Who Will the Other Four PK Forwards Be?
The Rangers had six penalty-killing forwards last season, but lost two of them in the offseason. Barclay Goodrow and Alex Wennberg both went to the San Jose Sharks and that leaves the Rangers with some holes to fill and decisions to make on who will take those spots. The other two players who are still here that will likely make up a PK duo are Trocheck and Jimmy Vesey. Trocheck is a faceoff master and will more likely win the draw than lose and Vesey has been a very reliable bottom-six player for the team over the past two seasons and played well on the PK last season. Now, who will be the third PK duo for the Rangers this season?
The two players that come to mind are the two newest additions to the team, that being Smith and Sam Carrick. Smith played on the PK with the Penguins and Vegas Golden Knights and he also is capable of scoring while shorthanded. He is 14th in the league over the past three seasons with six short-handed goals. Carrick is basically a Goodrow replacement and might be even better than him. He spent time killing penalties for both the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers last season and he was very reliable for both of those teams. While he might not put up much offense at all whether he’s playing five-on-five or shorthanded, he can be trusted to take on those defensive minutes.
The Rangers’ special teams have been just that over the past few seasons and they will look to continue that trend this season. While there has been some roster turnover and new players coming in, they still have some amazing talent that will help lead the way on both the power play and penalty kill.
