Special teams were an integral part of the Rangers’ success last season, when the club finished among the NHL’s top 10 on the power play and penalty kill.
The Blueshirts had the fourth-highest success rate on the power play at 25.2 percent and seventh-highest on the penalty kill at 82.3 percent. What the Rangers got out of their special teams wasn’t only evident in the statistics, but in intangible ways, as well.
The top power-play unit of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome and Adam Fox worked like clockwork. Seemingly every time Fox fed Zibanejad in the left faceoff circle for a one-timer, the puck ended up in the back of the net. Even when they didn’t produce a goal, more often than not, the Rangers came away with possession after a stretch with the man-advantage. And they gave up just two shorthanded goals last season, a league low.
“Me and Kreids were talking, we’re ready to get the group back together and get that chemistry back,” Fox told The Post on Thursday night after the Rangers’ 5-2 loss to the Devils in their third preseason game. “Power play is fun. Penalty kill is important, too. We scored two shorthanded goals today, scored one against the Islanders. You don’t want to be cheating on the penalty kill, but you do want to be threats, too.”
As Fox pointed out, much of the same high praise can be offered to the penalty-kill units. The Rangers gave up the fourth-fewest power-play goals last season (40) and scored eight shorthanded, which was tied with the Capitals and the Kraken for sixth-most in the NHL. The penalty-killing units exuded a healthy balance of aggressiveness and responsibility.
But while the power play appears as if it will remain largely intact (minus Strome), the penalty kill is undergoing a significant amount of personnel turnover. The Rangers lost five penalty-killing forwards to free agency in the offseason with the departures of Andrew Copp, Tyler Motte, Greg McKegg, Kevin Rooney and Strome.
Zibanejad, Kreider and Barclay Goodrow are the only penalty-killing forwards left from last season, so there are shorthanded minutes to be claimed. Head coach Gerard Gallant has said new second-line center Vincent Trocheck will replace Strome on the first power-play until, which suggests Trochek will play on the PK as well.
The need for penalty killers will surely carry weight in management’s decisions on the last forwards to make the roster. As of now, the competition seems to be among Dryden Hunt, Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Carpenter. Vesey, who is on a Professional Tryout, and Carpenter, who signed with the Rangers as a free agent this offseason, are penalty killers; Hunt isn’t. Hunt’s style of play, though, is in the mold favored by Gallant, which could make these final personnel decisions difficult to navigate.
In addition, it appears Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko are the first two in line to assume PK responsibility from among the roster locks.
“We’re definitely thinking about that,” Gallant said. “We always talk about being 200-foot players, and Kaapo was a very good, responsible defensive player. Laffy started playing a lot better the second half of last year, so we don’t see any issues with that. With their speed and talent, we’ll see where we go.”
Both wingers have logged time on the penalty kill this preseason, and they have fared relatively well. Lafreniere scored a shorthanded goal against the Devils on Thursday, capitalizing on a turnover and showing off his hands. But neither has spent any significant time on the PK during their respective tenures in New York.
Lafreniere said he killed penalties a little bit during his three seasons with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Rimouski Oceanic. Though he has admitted he felt a little rusty, No. 13 also said at the start of training camp that he is prepared to play in any situation the Rangers need him to.
“I’m still trying to learn a little bit the [PK] system,” he said. “It’s not complicated, but still, the more reps you get, the more comfortable you are.”
Mailbag
Why didn’t the Rangers give Brennan Othmann a real chance? Is it possible for them to add Othmann to the roster later in the season if a spot opens up, or is he committed to the OHL for the full season once sent there?
— Michael Quigley, David Parmele
It’s true, the Rangers could’ve given Othmann a nine-game cameo with the varsity club without triggering his contract. Unfortunately, however, this is a flat-cap world. The Rangers are counting pennies, and have to make roster decisions because of that. It’s just too big of a risk to rely on the 19-year-old winger when there isn’t much roster flexibility. Plus, Othmann is a top-nine player, so whom would he replace? Lafreniere? Kakko? Logistically, the Rangers are in a bind when it comes to Othmann. The fact that he can’t be assigned to the AHL, as my colleague Larry Brooks wrote about, complicates it even further.
But hey, there are worse things than Othmann going back to juniors and having another dominant season that can only further boost his confidence.
Do you think someone like Matt Rempe will ever make the show? He is certainly big and mean enough, it appears, and it looks like he has hands around the net.
— Juan Velez
There’s no question Rempe is built for the NHL, but his all-around game is what’s likely holding him back. His physical play isn’t good enough to outweigh his still-developing defensive game and puck-handling skills.
Is head coach Gerard Gallant pleased with Vitali Kravtsov’s play thus far?
— Joseph Meliambro
The Rangers are going to give Kravtsov every possible chance to succeed this season. Gallant has harped on the steps Kravtsov has taken to get back into the club’s good graces, such as coming to New York early in the summer to begin training and spending ample time with Artemi Panarin on the ice, as he should. It’ll be interesting to see what transpires, however, if Kravtsov continues to fade into the background on the ice, as he has through his first preseason games.