Rangers keys to success from the win against Dallas

Because this is awesome

The Rangers victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday was a real feel good victory all around, but was notable in particular for the way in which they won, playing some of the most complete hockey we’ve seen from them this season. The Rangers once again out-possessed their opponent and kept dangerous scoring chances against to a minimum, areas that were particular challenges for them earlier on in the season.

The big win was also notable because of whom they were playing and whom they play next; the Dallas Stars are at the top of a competitive Central Division and the Rangers play the league-leading Washington Capitals on Saturday. There are a few aspects of the Rangers’ game against Dallas on Tuesday that might be cause for some optimism ahead of Saturday’s matchup, despite the previous result against Washington.

First is the Rangers’ breakout, which has struggled all year. While in earlier games the Rangers often found themselves hemmed in their own end with no way out, against the Stars we saw a different kind of team. The defense put solid pressure on the puck any time it was in the Rangers’ zone, and upon collecting the puck made quick, deliberate passes to exit the zone.

Whereas earlier in the season we saw a lot of blind dump plays out of the zone or off the glass, against the Stars there were numerous quick plays and stretch passes. This latter move in particular has worked well for the Rangers over the past several seasons under Alain Vigneault, tapping into the skill and speed of players like Mats Zuccarello, Rick Nash, and Kevin Hayes. The Rangers outshot the Stars on Tuesday night and so much of the reason was that they were set up to succeed by a much improved breakout.

Speaking of offense, the Rangers were poised yet aggressive against the Stars, making smart plays on and off the puck and getting into a shoot first mentality early on in the game. One of the most notable things however, and something that can be notably absent in the kinds of tough Rangers losses we’ve witnessed in weeks past, was that they were going to the net consistently. Whether it was the initial shot that lead to Stepan’s first goal, the screen during Yandle’s, or the heavy traffic in front that got Viktor Stalberg his goal, the Rangers had a serious net-front presence on Tuesday night.

Looking at the shot location map, we can see pretty clearly that not only did the Rangers get most of their shots in the home plate area between the circles, but that a large number of them were directly in front of the net. That kind of sensibility to drive to the net consistently will make them a tough team to play against if they keep it up.

On the other side of that coin one of the most crucial things the Rangers did against Dallas, and definitely one of the most crucial things the Rangers will have to do against Washington on Saturday, was pushing shots against to the outside. This is easier said than done of course, and will be tough to do against the Capitals, but it’s not as though the Stars don’t also have considerable offensive depth.

A quick look at the shot map for Dallas on Tuesday shows that while they did have some chances down in front, they had more shots to the outside than they did right in front of the net. Repeating that kind of defense will be crucial against the Caps, but if they could do it against Dallas they can do it again.

Obviously all of these things are basic “you have it or you don’t” aspects of any given hockey game but these past several games, and especially this most recent game, the Rangers have had it. The Rangers strong possession game lately starts with good defense, and that means limiting chances and a crisp breakout, followed up by an aggressive offense and drives to the net. If the Rangers can repeat these keys to success they showed in their game against Dallas, there’s hope that our next result against Washington won’t be like the last one.