The impact Jesper Fast has in the New York Rangers lineup

In case you missed it, the New York Rangers have won three in a row and 11 of their last 12 games. I feel like no one missed that. What you may have missed is that the Rangers are 17-5-2 with Jesper Fast in the lineup, including 11 straight wins. I’m not usually one to bank on the performance of a team based on the presence of one kid in the lineup, but it’s certainly something looking into.

Fast’s #fancystats aren’t among the league’s best, but he’s certainly no slouch. Primarily deployed in the defensive zone (35.6% OZ starts), Fast’s CF sits at 45.7% (-4.8% relative). That has been a steady increase in effectiveness, as before the winning streak Fast was around 40% CF and -7.0% relative. Fast isn’t paid to put the puck in the net, but he’s put up a respectable 3-3-6, with 1-1-2 coming in this 11 game streak.

All told, Fast’s ability to drive puck possession has been trending upward (rolling five-game average). It’s not perfect, but considering his deployment and solid positioning/play in the defensive zone, you take it. He’s a defense-first forward, so his trend upward in CF is generally related to suppressing shot attempts.

Because of Fast’s deployment, you expect him to suppress shot attempts, both quantity and quality, and he’s been doing just that (CA/60 at 50.0, 6th among forwards). All forwards ahead of Fast –except for Dominic Moore– have significantly higher offensive zone starts.

His hextally, identifying shot locations against with him on the ice, is pretty impressive:

To read this chart you want blue circles in high risk areas, which is what Fast has been able to suppress. He’s doing a better job, comparatively to league average, of suppressing quality shots in the slot. He limits shots to the outside.

Put this all together, and you have a defensively sound player that limits both quantity and quality shot attempts from the opposition. It’s really all you can ask for given his deployment and the relative faith that Alain Vigneault is starting to show in the kid. While the record with Fast in the lineup is not caused directly by Fast, he has certainly been a positive contributing factor to the recent run.