• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Advanced Stats

The Key to the Rangers’ Resurgence

By Tom Dianora February 16th, 2016

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

The New York Rangers look like they are finding their game, having gone 5-0-1 in their past six, and 7-2-1 in their past 10. Coming off a brutal stretch in December that saw them win just four times, the Blueshirts were in dire need of a solid run of victories.

What’s perhaps most remarkable about the Rangers’ improved play of late is that it has largely come without the services of both Ryan McDonagh and Rick Nash, each of whom is currently sidelined with an injury.

So how and why are the Rangers winning more consistently? There are numerous reasons for their turnaround, but the overarching one is that their process and style of play are much better now than they were earlier in the season.

It’s About the Process

When the Rangers were in an awful rut in December, their biggest issues were on the defensive side of the puck. Frankly, their defensive issues had existed for most of the year, but goaltender Henrik Lundqvist played out of his mind in the early part of the season, helping to mask some of the club’s deficiencies. Over the long haul though, this was not a sustainable style of play for the Rangers to continue to adhere to if they wanted to be a contending team.

As Lundqvist inevitably came back down to earth, more light was shed on New York’s possession and coverage issues. Opponents were dominating puck possession against the Rangers, and eventually, the goals allowed started to pile up. As a result, Lundqvist’s confidence was shaken, as was that of his teammates. The Rangers were not just experiencing a slump; their system of play had completely broken down.

Thankfully though, New York slowly began to improve its play. Still though, in the short term, the team was still not stringing wins together, playing essentially .500 hockey for most of January. But the key was that their process and style of play had improved considerably. It was only a matter of time before the results reflected that, and sure enough the wins have become more consistent in mid-February.

http://gty.im/508468530

 

The Underlying Numbers are Better

While “fancy stats” can be a very polarizing subject, it really is not a coincidence that the Rangers are winning games now. The statistics show that their shot suppression and puck possession have steadily gotten better after being abysmal for much of the season. Controlling possession on a consistent basis long-term will usually lead to a decisively winning record, which is starting to show.

To give some numbers behind the Rangers’ better possession statistics, we can compare their Corsi-for (i.e., shot attempts) and scoring chances for vs. against metrics for the month of December to those same metrics from January onward. (All of these statistics are from war-on-ice.com, and take into account score adjustments.)

In December, the Rangers’ average per-game Corsi-for percentage was a meager 49.4% (calculated by taking the straight average of each game’s individual percentage). Since then however, it has been a noticeably better 51.7%.

With respect to scoring chances, the Rangers generated an average of 19.4 scoring chances per game in December, while yielding 21.8. From January onward though, New York has found itself on the right side of that differential, averaging 21.6 scoring chances per game while giving up 20.4.

Better defense and a more consistently aggressive forecheck have led to better overall possession for the Rangers. Now they are starting to reap the benefits — that is, they are winning more games.

  • Tags
  • Henrik Lundqvist
  • Rick Nash
  • Ryan McDonagh
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 18th 3:25 PM
Montreal Canadiens

Prospects News & Rumors: Robertson, Caufield, Clarke & Harrison

Jan 18th 3:10 PM
Edmonton Oilers

Oilers News & Rumors: Yamamoto, Kahun, Bear, Goalie News, More

Jan 18th 3:00 PM
Column

Flyers Who’s Hot & Who’s Not: Konecny, Hart, Voracek & More

Jan 18th 2:50 PM
Ottawa Senators

From the Senators’ Chambers: White Will Get His Chances

Jan 18th 2:40 PM
Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs Weekly: Goalie Controversy, Injuries, Waivers and More

Jan 18th 2:30 PM
Column

Oilers Weekly: Inconsistent Play, Goalie Carousel & COVID-19

Jan 18th 1:35 PM
Column

NHL Players of the Week: McDavid, Stamkos & More

Jan 18th 1:20 PM
Archives

Mark Messier – NHL Legend and 6 Time Stanley Cup Winner

Jan 18th 12:50 PM
College Hockey

College Hockey Report: Recapping the Weekend Action (Jan. 16-17)

Jan 18th 12:35 PM
Boston Bruins

NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs, Oilers, Jets, Bruins, Penguins, More

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information