The New York Rangers were not supposed to make noise this season. They were atrocious in October and November, to the point where they were historically bad defensively. Then things turned around in December, with the process improving significantly, to the point where the Rangers went from historically bad to league average.

The wins didn’t come in December, despite the improved process, because of a dip in goaltending. This stuff usually happens throughout the year, as teams ebb and flow over the course of 82 games. The team was treading water in January, playing .500 hockey into their bye week.

That’s when everything changed. The process was still solid, but the Rangers were seeing their PDO (shooting percentage and goaltending) come back to expected –and higher– levels. A 12-4-0 record out of the break made the Rangers relevant and pushing for a playoff spot before three key injuries and three straight regulation losses sent them crashing down to Earth.

Now with an incredibly difficult schedule in March, the playoff odds are fading fast. But missing the playoffs doesn’t mean the season was a failure. There is a strong case that the Rangers’ slide started initially because of the Pavel Buchnevich injury, and then was exacerbated by the Chris Kreider injury.

Both scenarios resulted in the depth of the team being exposed. Phil Di Giuseppe on the top line shows how thin the Rangers are up front. Second line winger Jesper Fast, who is a solid botto-six guy but miscast as a top-six guy, also illustrated this.

Despite all this, the Rangers made things interesting. They kept us captivated and played meaningful games in February. They continue to play meaningful games, where every point matters, in March. For most, watching the last two months of the season was a chore. This year it’s exciting. Each goal comes with a wide range of emotions.

Just from that singular point, you can see the progress made by the Blueshirts. It goes deeper than that, with several bright spots for the Rangers to build upon:

  • Mika Zibanejad has cemented himself as the 1C the Rangers sorely needed.
  • Artemi Panarin is as advertised, and then some. He made Ryan Strome into a (possibly) 70-point player.
  • Strome has emerged as a player who can, at the very least, find chemistry with Panarin. Remember, the rub on Strome was work ethic and play without the puck, not skill level.
  • Filip Chytil is very quickly developing into the 2C of the future.
  • Adam Fox is a potential star in the making.
  • Kaapo Kakko, despite his struggles, has seen flashes of brilliance. He needs more adjustments to the North American game, specifically with skating and hand positioning, but the progress is evident.
  • Tony DeAngelo is able to make Marc Staal look passable. He’s at 49 points with 16 games remaining. A strong finish gets him to 60 points.
  • Before the Brady Skjei trade, Jacob Trouba was cruising as a top-four option.
  • Ryan Lindgren has emerged as the top LD on the team and will likely top out as a legitimate top-four option.
  • Julien Gauthier has the tools, he just needs to put it all together at once.
  • Seeing how quickly this team crumbled without Buchnevich and/or Kreider shows how important those two are to a balanced offense and sustained pressure. Both have quieted doubters that they are top-six options.
  • The Hartford Wolf Pack, before being gutted by recalls, were a top team in the AHL.

Not all of this will pan out, but this is a solid foundation for the Rangers to build upon. The playoffs would be nice, and they are still in the hunt. Even if they fall out of the race, this season has been and should be considered a resounding success.

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