Rangers' Recent Slump Has Exposed Larger Weaknesses Masked By Strong Start

With a 6-2-0 record coming out of the gate this season, the New York Rangers surprised many observers who wondered about their overall skill and composition.

It was even more impressive when, after a season-ending injury to star goaltender Igor Shesterkin, youngster Dylan Garand came in and provided stability between the pipes in his early appearances.

That said, the bottom has fallen since that strong start, losing five of their past six games while being outscored 26-12. In four of Garand's past six games, he's posted a save percentage of .882 or worse.

The Rangers couldn't keep asking Garand to come out every night and steal them two points, but what else is behind their recent skid?

Their defense has been well beyond shoddy, and that's with a penalty kill that ranks third in the NHL at 90.5 percent. Blueshirts coach Mike Sullivan had his team gelling early on this year in their own zone, but when you lose one of the best goalies on the planet, your defensive strength really gets put to the test.

The Rangers as a team are 22nd in the NHL in corsi-for percentage (47.73) at 5-on-5 and 19th in expected goals-for percentage (48.99) at 5-on-5. These numbers aren't great, but they are close enough to NHL average that an elite goaltender  — Shesterkin ranks sixth in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes according to Money Puck — can mask a lot of those issues. 

So while Garand has admirably tried to hold the fort down in Shesterkin's absence, it looks like Shesterkin was frequently bailing out his teammates in a way that Garand can't for a prolonged period of time.

The Blueshirts' defense corps was supposedly improved considerably this off-season with the additions of veterans Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson, along with the return of a healthy Adam Fox. But there are too many night where the Rangers are digging themselves holes they can't climb out from, and their offense can't keep pace.

One of the reasons for that is the struggles of first-year Ranger Pavel Dorofeyev. The Russian sniper was the Rangers' biggest off-season acquisition, but he's produced only three goals and eight points in 13 games this year, and head coach Mike Sullivan recently demoted Dorofeyev to the third line.

It's worth noting that there's a little bit of puck luck that hasn't gone Dorofeyev's way, with his shooting percentage sitting at 7.1 percent through his first 14 games while he averaged 15.2 percent in that category over the past four seasons.

Those numbers will likley sort themselves out eventually and goals will come, but it's not fair to hang the Rangers' struggles just on Dorofeyev. The Blueshirts have only two players – Fox and winger Alexis Lafreniere – who are producing offense at a point-per-game rate.

The entire roster has gone cold in the offensive zone, and on the nights where the Rangers do generate three goals or more, the defense has been sagging and letting them down.

The Rangers are getting a bit of a break with the next seven games of their upcoming schedule, facing off against the Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks that are very winnable games for them. Those could be good opportunities for their struggling offensive players to get back on track, but keeping the puck out of the net will be even more important.

For as optimistic as things looked in Manhattan after the Rangers' first eight games, they've nullified that strong start with their woes in their past six. Until the Blueshirts can be a more consistent team, they're going to be a bubble playoff team at best.

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