The NY Rangers showcased their probable special teams combos at practice, and it looks like nothing changed from March.
PP work now. Units are… 👇🏼
PP1- 🥖, Mika, Kreider, Strome and Tony
PP2- Kakko, Buch, Chytil, Trouba and 🦊 #NYR
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) July 23, 2020
That is a killer top powerplay unit, and one that could feasible carry the Rangers. This holds true especially if the hockey is as sloppy as expected given the long layoff. The second powerplay unit shouldn’t be slept on either, especially if Kaapo Kakko has been as resurgent as noted.
The penalty kill combos, well those leave a lot to be desired.
Now focus has shifted to PK
PK forward combos 👇🏼
Mika – Fast
Strome – Howden
McKegg – PDG
D pairs 👇🏼
Lindgren – Staal
Smith – Trouba
Hajek – Fox
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) July 23, 2020
Ryan Strome and Brett Howden were one of the worst forward duos in the league this year on the penalty kill. The Rangers don’t have much to work with here outside of Mika Zibanejad and Jesper Fast, so that should be taken into account. There’s still room for improvement.
The defense pairs are easily managed by simply swapping Staal and Fox, but that isn’t going to happen. I get it – Fox plays a lot at evens and on the powerplay. But if the Rangers want to be more successful on the PK, that’s one simple change that can get it done.
Much like their even strength lines, the NY Rangers special teams combos remain relatively unchanged since the lockdown. This should be expected, as is the same for most teams. The big question is which Rangers team will show up. Will it be the November Rangers? Or the February Rangers?
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Categorized: Special Teams