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MSL: lead by example personified. Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images

Henrik Lundqvist isn’t turning in consistent Vezina worthy performances this season, something that’s being well documented, however it’s reasonable to expect Lundqvist to rebound. When someone delivers the type of consistent excellence Lundqvist has done for the best part of a decade it’s fair to expect a return to form. A bigger concern for the Rangers right now is the lack of consistent, secondary scoring the team is receiving.

The Rangers are hovering around the playoff positions almost exclusively because of the contributions of Rick Nash, Marty St Louis and Derick Brassard. The trio have 34 of the Rangers 71 goals, accounting for over 47% of the Rangers total. After those three, production falls of a cliff. The return of Derek Stepan has given the Rangers an added dimension but the team is getting far too little out of players who they were counting on for big contributions and the Rangers season threatens to get worse if that lack of production continues.

Top six forwards Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello – and basically the entire defensive unit – haven’t contributed nearly enough offense to this point. Kreider is on course for around 44 points this season which would represent a career high but he’s gone ten games without a goal and has just three helpers in the same time frame. Not nearly enough from a guy with his skill set, who was expected to take a major step forward this year.

It’s even worse for Zuccarello. After leading the Rangers with 59 points last year, Zuccarello has come crashing down to earth. While Zuccarello’s effort cannot be questioned, Zuccarello has taken careless penalties, and is on course for just 34 points. He’s also contributed literally nothing to the powerplay. Last year Zuccarello had 17 points on the powerplay. A major fall from grace for a player looking to score a big, long term deal this summer.

Both Zuccarello and Kreider were expected to be major contributors this year and their contributions were also going to help mask the lack of depth down the middle for the Rangers. It’s not reasonable to expect rookies like Kevin Hayes and Anthony Duclair to be major point producers so all of a sudden the Rangers are lacking offensive punch behind their big names.

When you factor in the injuries to Dan Boyle and Ryan McDonagh (as well as their lack of offense), the regression of Marc Staal and the paltry seven goals received from the defense, the Rangers are really struggling to score enough to compensate for their other struggles. What happens when Nash and St Louis have a difficult stretch? What happens if Nash or St Louis go down with an injury? Lundqvist isn’t the biggest threat to the Rangers season; the lack of offensive production is the Rangers’ biggest threat.

Kevin Hayes has started to develop steadily and Carl Hagelin has chipped in some consistent offense recently but the Rangers still need more. While Lundqvist underwhelms and the defense struggles this team needs to score goals. As it stands, the Rangers cannot compete with Tampa, with the Penguins or even with the Islanders. They cannot compete with the Canadiens or the Red Wings and this is without factoring in the inconsistent Capitals and stumbling Bruins, both of whom can be expected to improve.

The Rangers are in a precarious position. They face a race just to make the playoffs if they cannot get better production out of their all-world goaltender, their entire defense and their forward depth. Teams that rely on one line, rarely make the playoffs. Depth is king. It’s time the Rangers depth came to play.

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