New York Rangers Living Up to Locker Room Expectations

The New York Rangers look like the team to beat in the Eastern Conference through four games. Again it is only four games, but the Rangers look like an offensive juggernaut that is ready to take the NHL by storm. Many expected the Rangers to take the next step this season after an incredible trip to the Eastern Conference Final last year. However, this year the bar has been raised inside the locker room. And so far the Rangers are living up to those expectations, as they are on a mission to win it all.

New York Rangers Expectations Are Much Higher Than Last Year

Last season, many did not expect the Rangers to make the playoffs. Most had them missing the playoffs. However, if you followed the team’s trajectory under the previous regime before Chris Drury took over as general manager, the Rangers were trending in the right direction. And when the Rangers did make the playoffs it was not a surprise. That was the next step they needed to take.

Drury did an incredible job of reshaping the Rangers heading into the 2021-22 season. Thus, the Rangers made the playoffs and finished second in the Metro Division. New York needed two seven-round series playoff victories to make it to the Eastern Conference Final. There they ran into the Tampa Bay Lightning, but if things fell into place, the Rangers might have made  it to the Stanley Cup Final.

This year, however, the Rangers know they are no longer the hunter, but the hunted, thus the higher expectations.

“It was easy last year when no one expects anything out of you and you kind of rally around that almost, it’s easy to get up when teams are saying the other team is going to beat you and everything like that,” Adam Fox said to the media following practice on October 10th. 

“So now to have a little bit of expectation – call it a target on your back – I think obviously that builds a little motivation as well,” Fox continued in a post-practice interview with the media. “You want to be able to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke and that we do have the team to do that and get to that point.”

So far, the Rangers are off to a good start. Again it is just four games, but it is clear this team is on a mission. It is just not about making the playoffs this year. The Rangers goal is to win the whole thing.

Learning From the Past

Teams that are on the rise usually have to go through failure. And those teams learn lessons from that failure. This season, the Rangers look like a team that failed to live up to their own championship aspirations last year. When a team gets that close and fails, it lights a fire inside the team to go out and win the following year.

Just look at the San Antonio Spurs after they lost to the Miami Heat in 2013. The following year nobody was stopping the Spurs from winning. The Rangers have that same feel through four games. Colorado had that look last year too.

“We’re a hungry group, we’re young and want to get back to where we were last year,” Fox added when speaking with the media following practice on October 10th.

Nothing is more dangerous than a hungry team. And this Rangers’ team is hungry. Each player is a year older, but a year wiser as well. And they all want to win. That starts with management and works its way down to the players. Everyone has to buy into the message, which is the case for the Rangers. Again, it is just four games, but the Rangers are clicking especially on offence.

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Pushing the Right Buttons

One of the most intelligent decisions Chris Drury made as general manager was to hire Gerard Gallant as the New York Rangers head coach. Gallant made an impact on the team right away, especially the young kids like Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil. The “Kid Line” was instrumental to the Rangers making the Eastern Conference Final last year.

During the season, Gallant gave these younger players a bigger role on the team and they flourished. Though the way it ended for the Rangers and Kakko not playing left many scratching their heads. It is a decision only Gallant knows and eventually we will find out. But the Rangers have moved on and both Lafreniere and Kakko have looked strong in the opening four games of the season.

With Vitaly Kravtsov getting hurt in the first game of the season, Gallant had to work his magic in the next contest against Minnesota. He moved Lafreniere up to the second line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. The Rangers signed Trocheck in the offseason to be their second-line center behind Mika Zibanejad. And that line of Trocheck-Panarin-Lafreniere has clicked. That energy carried into Monday night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.

Though it is only four games, having young players in a position to succeed is vital to a team’s success. Not to mention, it is the third season for Lafreniere and the fourth season for Kakko. Both look like the players they did during their draft years. Also, having your depth players score in addition to the top guys makes the Rangers a better team. But this is just another example of Gallant pushing the right buttons for this team to succeed. They’re not resting on their laurels and are going out and being better than the previous year.

Repeat Performances

A big reason why outside of the “Kid Line” the New York Rangers were successful was the play of Igor Shesterkin and Chris Kreider. Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy last year and there is no reason why he can’t do it again. He played a big part in why the Rangers got as far as they did. Shesterkin was there to make the big save and keep the Rangers in games despite their poor analytic defensive numbers. He will have to repeat that performance again of posting  a record of 36-13-4 with a 2.07 goals-against average and .935 save percentage (both first in NHL). There is no reason why he can’t

Kreider led the team with 52 goals, the most in his career. 26 out of the 52 goals came on the power play. Also the most on the team. Both way over his career highs. But it is not out of the question for him to have a similar performance this season. Just look at who Kreider is paired with on the power play. Mika Zibanejad and Panarin. That is a deadly combination. If Kreider is not scoring there are Panarin and Zibanejad to rifle the puck home.

Moving Forward

The New York Rangers were a Stanley Cup favourite to begin the season. Through four games nothing has changed except maybe their odds to win the Stanley Cup. However, one thing is clear, this team can handle the pressure of being a favourite as they look to complete some unfinished business.