The New York Rangers made a big shake-up to their power play during Thursday’s practice.
Will Cuylle replaced Alexis Lafrenière on the team’s first power-play unit, with Lafrenière taking a role on the second power-play unit.
This change comes as the Rangers are tied for the fewest power-play goals in the NHL with 4 and have the worst power-play percentage at 11.1%.
Mike Sullivan is hoping to provide a stronger net-front presence, placing Cuylle in front of the net, while putting Mika Zibanejad at the bumper and J.T. Miller at the right flank.
“I think it's a more skilled position than maybe all of us think,” Sullivan said on the net-front power-play position. “I think Will (Cuylle) has all the attributes to be that guy. He's talented, he's got a good stick, he's big, and he's strong, and so he's hard to handle.
“There are guys historically around the league that, over the years, have scored a lot of goals in that area of the rink. The guy that comes to mind for me is Joe Pavelski. Nobody had a better stick than that guy, and he was around the net all the time. He scored a million goals. They're not highlight goals, but they all count the same, so I think that's an area where Will can help us.”
Cuylle provides an element of grit and toughness, which translates to the netfront position that Lafrenière simply didn’t bring to the table.
Since Sullivan’s arrival, he’s preached the importance of providing that netfront presence on the power play.
He put it into action when he gave Matt Rempe a role on the second power-play unit in front of the net, something the previous coaching regime had not attempted.
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The key in Sullivan’s mind to fixing their power play woes is to be aggressive in front of the net.
“I just think we got to fight harder for the net front. I think we can be there more,” Sullivan said. “I think when we get there, I think we can, we can have different intentions…
“Sometimes it just hits the mass of humanity at the front of the net and the puck lays somewhere, defending that next play is really difficult. The conversion rates on those types of goals historically over the last few seasons have been very high as far as how goals are being scored. We've looked at how goals are being scored in the league across the last couple of years, that type of goal is one of the highest conversion rates in the league, so I think we can do a better job in that aspect of it as far as manufacturing offense, just by going to the net more often, more consistently, but going there with the right intentions. I think if we do that, I think we'll create more offense.”
Now, we’ll have to see if this big shake-up and change in philosophy will help turn around a struggling Rangers power play.