The New York Rangers currently have a 2-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final. After losing Game 1 3-0, the team bounced back to win Game 2 in overtime off of a goal by an unlikely hero. Barclay Goodrow scored the goal and tied the series at one game apiece. Currently in his third season with the Rangers, Goodrow has been heavily criticized over the past few campaigns because of his lack of production and because he arguably has one of the worst contracts in the league.
He is currently making $3,641,667 for this season and the next two seasons. He his in the third season of a six-year deal he signed with the Rangers after they traded for his signing rights during the 2021 offseason. So, while he hasn’t lived up to his contract in terms of regular-season production, he is proving why he is worth his contract with his current playoff performance.
Goodrow’s Goal Scoring Has Increased From the Regular Season
The 2023-24 season was not very memorable for Goodrow, as he had his worst offensive season as a Ranger so far. He scored only four goals and had 12 points in 80 games, while also sporting a minus-13 rating. His poor regular season was just another reason for fans to hate on him and advocate for him being traded or bought out this offseason. However, once the playoffs began, it was like a flip was switched and Goodrow looks like a completely different player. He has scored six goals and has eight points in 13 playoff games so far; he has three goals in the past two games and had looked like one of the Rangers’ best players in the series so far.
He has more goals in the Eastern Conference Final than Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, and Chris Kreider combined; the other three players, who are the Rangers’ best offensive players, have zero goals so far in this series. So while it is concerning those three players haven’t scored yet, it’s great to see a player like Goodrow picking up the slack and upping his game at the most important time of the season.
Goodrow Is One of the Rangers’ Best Penalty Killers
One of the biggest strengths Goodrow brings is his penalty-killing ability. He has been paired with Vincent Trocheck for a majority of the regular season and into the playoffs and they have been a very effective penalty killing duo. They have also been great at creating offense while shorthanded, as Goodrow has two shorthanded goals in these playoffs, which leads all players. He scored a shorthanded goal in Game 3 of this series, which was his second of the game and gave the Rangers a 4-2 lead heading into the the third period. While the Rangers didn’t hold onto the lead for long, it was a crucial goal at a crucial time and it’s plays like that that make him so effective in the playoffs.
Related: Ranger’s Special Teams Need to Improve for Game 4
The Rangers overall have been a very good penalty-killing team in these playoffs. They currently sit third among the teams remaining in penalty killing percentage with 85.7% and they lead the league in shorthanded goals in the playoffs with five. Goodrow’s first shorthanded goal in the playoffs — in game in Game 3 against the Washington Capitals in the first round — was also the eventual game-winning-goal. The Rangers have been great all season shorthanded and Goodrow has been a big factor as to why they have been so successful in these playoffs while being a man down.
Goodrow is a Clutch Playoff Performer
The phrase that goes around sometimes for certain players is that they are “16 game players.” This means that they can step up their game in the playoffs and be a factor helping their team win the 16 games needed to win a Stanley Cup. For Goodrow, he is one of those players. It started in 2019, when he scored the double-overtime winner as a member of the San Jose Sharks against the Vegas Golden Knights. He then went on to win two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In his first season with the Rangers, they went to the Eastern Conference Final. He has made the playoffs in the last seven seasons of his career and now, he and the Rangers are back in the Eastern Conference Final leading 2-1 in the series.
Goodrow has been a clutch playoff performer for years now is showing that for the Rangers right now in this series. He has stepped up his game when the other star players has struggled and he has been great on both the offensive and defensive side of the puck. If the Rangers do eventually go on to win this series and make it to the Stanley Cup Final, fans will looks back and say that Goodrow’s play was one of the big reasons why the Rangers won the series.
