Which New York Rangers performed better than expected and worse than expected in the first quarter of the NHL season?
The New York Rangers are off to a club-record start this season. Here is an evaluation of who's stock is up and who's stock is down after the season's first quarter.
The three sections are direct:
"Stock Up" - Players that exceeded expectations or previous standards that they have set in production, effective play.
"Stock Down"-Players that have shown more in the past or regressed to begin the season. These are subjective observations. These players are still playing very good hockey, just not to previously established standards.
"On brand"- A positive for the Rangers. This group of skaters are on their game and have propelled the Rangers into 1st place. If Kreider had 30 goals in 21 games, it would be an improvement from previous seasons (stock up). If he had just 5 goals in 21 games, it would be uncharacteristic (stock down).
Stock Up
Erik Gustafsson- Jonny wrote all about the 3rd pairing, powerplay QB replacement HERE. Gustafsson's stock might have risen the most across the entire NHL to open the season.
Artemi Panarin- The star winger simply has the option to go to the net now since Lafreniere has the capability of driving play. It's flipped the script following where he left off on May 1st. More HERE.
Alexis Lafreniere- Plenty had been said about the 2020 first-overall pick until opening night. Since then, he's looking like his WJC mixtape on NHL ice. He's oozing confidence and has 8G, 6A, and 14 PTS this season.
Jacob Trouba: The captain is quietly doing it all for the Rangers. He's a menace on the back end, carrying on his established brand of Scott Stevens-like hockey. No.8 has 75 blocks and 50 hits. He's the only player in the NHL with 50 hits and 70+ blocks.
Vincent Trocheck: In November, Trocheck has done a phenomenal job in place of Filip Chytil. They may keep the Italian Stallion in between 10 and 13 for his vibrant efforts. He's arguably been the Ranger's best player in the team's latest stretch. The 30-year-old pivot has 17 points in 21 games, and is the 2nd best faceoff man in the show, winning 63.5% of his draws.
Jonathan Quick: Things looked grim in the preseason for the 37-year-old netminder. Once the real games began, he dominated the crease, starting when the club needed him the most, even against the Bruins to take hold of the East. I mean these numbers from a backup... A 6-0-1 record, 2 SO, 1.99 GAA, .930 SV%, 1.165 GSAX.
Jimmy Vesey: "Himmy" was a healthy scratch to start the season. In the last three weeks, he's scored clutch goals against the Devils, Bruins, and Red Wings, a handful of the league's best. Unlike last season he's done so on the fourth line. As a whole the trio has executed, but the second-stint Ranger is leading the charge.
Nick Bonino: A late edition. He eats pucks for breakfast. "Bones" leads all NHL forwards with 50-shot blocks, 20 more than the next guy. He is proving to be vital to the club's success.
Stock Down
Kaapo Kakko: Now that he is on the LTIR it feels wrong to place him here. It looked like he'd break 50 points from his camp and preseason on Zibanejad and Kreider's line. He struggled to produce and was moved to 3RW. A tough go all around.
Blake Wheeler: Remember folks, he's on a $825,000 deal. He just hasn't made it a Gustafsson or Quick-like "steal." In the words of the Joker, it's not (necessarily) about the money. The on-ice product is doing the small things, but not scoring or adding to the Zibanejad and Kreider unit. The team is the best in the NHL. But... it would look a lot worse if this team was losing.
Mika Zibanejad: Zibanejad has been a responsible player and contributes but hasn't produced at his normal rate. Especially in the goals category, where he has 5. The patented powerplay slapper hasn't heated up. Same principle for Wheeler as Zibanejad.
Braden Schneider: Schneider is another player who makes some good plays and holds his own on the 3rd pairing. There's no expectation for offense. His play is just less noticeable than last season.
Barclay Goodrow: Copy and paste the expectations for the offense for the other stock-down players. It may be because he isn't getting the fill-in spots on Panarin's line or scoring lines. His production has decreased, and players like Vesey and Nick Bonino are making it difficult to justify his cap hit. Those are players that add the grit, the "little things", and the shot-blocking, at more cost efficiency. Not to mention Vesey's recent uptick in scoring. Championship pedigree matters, the Rangers need more from No.21.
On Brand:
Chris Kreider, Ryan Lindgren, Will Cuylle, K'Andre Miller, Igor Shesterkin, and Adam Fox are honorary mentions. I thought they've played exactly on brand, not necessarily above expectation or below. "
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