The New York Rangers are off to an impressive 16-4-1 start despite dealing with injuries to a lot of their top players. Igor Shesterkin missed a couple of weeks, Adam Fox missed 10 games, and both Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil are on long-term injured reserve. In their absence, the team’s gritty players have stepped up with captain Jacob Trouba leading the way, and the bottom-six forward group has played well too.
Jacob Trouba
When Fox went down with a knee injury against the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 2, Erik Gustafsson did an excellent job replacing him on the Rangers’ top power-play unit and as a top-four defenseman. Additionally, Trouba and K’Andre Miller, the team’s top healthy defense pair, played at an extremely high level both at even strength and on the penalty kill.
Trouba and Miller have now been paired together for four seasons. In their first two seasons Trouba was the one who looked to be more aggressive offensively but this season Miller is the one who is carrying the puck and jumping up in the offensive zone more often. He scored from the slot in the Rangers’ 7-4 win over the Boston Bruins on Nov. 25, and scored the game-tying goal in the third period of the team’s 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 29. He has three goals and seven assists while playing in all 21 games. All of his points have come at even strength.
Miller’s improved offensive play has allowed Trouba to focus on making clean passes to start the rush, making smart decisions, and excelling defensively. He has one goal and eight assists in 21 games and all of his points have come at even strength. He has set the tone physically with big hits and is second on the team with 50 hits. He is also second in the NHL with 75 blocked shots, one of which helped preserve the Rangers’ 3-2 win against the Red Wings in the final seconds with the team shorthanded.
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Trouba and Miller have done an excellent job for the Rangers on the penalty kill, and they have played very well late in close games. The two have also consistently generated offense at even strength but have rarely gotten caught out of position defensively.
Bottom-Six Forwards
With Chytil out injured since Nov. 2, and now Kakko injured as well, the Rangers have lost depth in their bottom-six forward group but the players who are healthy have stepped up. Jimmy Vesey scored a clutch game-winning goal with a few minutes left in the 3-2 win against the Red Wings and he also scored two goals in a 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 18. He was a healthy scratch early in the season but now has five goals and an assist in his last 11 games.
Rookie Will Cuylle leads the team in hits with 55 and also has three goals and two assists, including the game-winning goal in the team’s 2-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 2. He is a good skater and has driven to the front of the net to create scoring chances.
Even more important than the offensive contributions, the Rangers’ bottom-six forwards have played very well defensively and on the penalty kill. They have the seventh-best penalty kill in the NHL this season at 85.7 percent which has been key for them in close games. They have also proven they can be trusted defensively and have earned shifts late in close games with the team leading.
Barclay Goodrow and Nick Bonino have not given the team much offensive production but they have stepped up on the penalty kill. Bonino leads all forwards with 50 blocked shots this season.
For the Rangers Moving Forward
The Rangers got some positive injury news as Fox returned to the lineup on Nov. 29. Still, they need Trouba and Miller to continue playing at a high level and they will need their bottom-six forwards to continue playing well with Chytil and Kakko out. While they have not made flashy plays, the team’s grinders deserve praise as they have played a big role in the 16-4-1 start to the season.
