The Rangers have an elite penalty killing unit

Nash, penalty killing machine (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

In a Twitter conversation yesterday, the ability to limit shot attempts against while on the penalty kill came up. It’s been known that the Rangers have an elite penalty killing unit. They’ve always been in the top-ten in the league in killing penalties, but much of that was attributed to having Henrik Lundqvist in net. Lundqvist is certainly an All World goalie, but he’s not the only penalty killer out there.

To best evaluate individual success –independent of the goaltender– is to evaluate shot attempts against while the player is on the ice in these situations. It’s not perfect, but it is certainly a helper to evaluate. Looking at last year’s numbers (FA/60), the Rangers have had some elite talent on the penalty kill, especially at forward.

All stats from stats.hockeyanalysis.com. Stats are 4v5 from last year only, minimum 50 minutes played.

That is just downright effective. This returning quintet is one of the main reasons why the penalty killing unit is so effective. They are all top-60 in limiting shot attempts, and three are top-20.  Zone starts do need to be taken into account here. The leaders in defensive zone starts were Stepan (85.7%), Moore (81.5%), and Nash (76.2%). Fast (41.9%) and Glass (31.8%) were sheltered a bit.

Assuming natural progression, let’s assume Jesper Fast takes Carl Hagelin’s role, and Oscar Lindberg takes Fast’s old role. Depending on what happens with Glass, we may see Viktor Stalberg fill in that role.

For comparison’s sake, Jarret Stoll came in at 182nd of 187 qualifying forwards, with a FA/60 of 90.48 in 80.6% DZ starts. He should not be an option on the penalty kill.

Penalty killing goes beyond forwards, so let’s look at the defense:

This is one of those times where the reputation meets results for the Rangers defense. All five of the main penalty killers are ranked in the top-30 in limiting shot attempts against. Boyle had the fewest DZ starts (57.1%), but the other four were all between 75%-80% DZ starts. Again, all of this is goalie independent, since the goalie doesn’t have a role in suppressing shot attempts.

While the Rangers may have an overrated defense at even strength, one thing that cannot be taken away from them is that they are an elite penalty killing machine. Ten of their top eleven penalty killers are returning this season, and they add another solid PKer in Lindberg. If there’s one thing we won’t have to worry about this season, it will be the penalty kill.