Five keys to success for the Rangers this season

The preseason is almost over, and the roster is beginning to take shape. The Rangers are heading into the season with a bunch of question marks, but still a better roster than last season. Playoffs are the expectation for the Rangers this season, as they took a turn to address roster holes in a more unique manner than most teams. The models don’t necessarily like the Rangers, but they do at least project them to be a 95+ point team. But to hit that mark, a few things need to fall in place, as they are keys to success for the Rangers this season.

1. Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko

The Rangers are banking on Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko to pick up the slack in the top-six. The Rangers lost (82 game pace) 30 goals and 73 points by trading Pavel Buchnevich and another 24 goals and 44 points by losing Colin Blackwell to expansion. It’s not an exact science, but that’s 54 goals and 117 points that both Kakko and Lafreniere will need to make up in the aggregate. Given the top six minutes they will be getting, this is not only one of the keys to success for the Rangers, but also an expectation. Unfairly or not.

2. Special teams will need to be better

This is cheating a bit, but the Rangers will also need their special teams to be more consistent than last season. PP1 last season was solid, but was also a one trick pony. That’s fine in theory, since Artemiy Panarin or Mika Zibanejad could be the trigger man on the off wing, but it made them easy to predict. It looks like Lafreniere will get the other off wing spot on PP1, which provides another weapon on that unit.

But this goes beyond just PP1. Kakko will be a key cog on PP2. Based on what we’ve seen in the preseason, he will be joined by Sammy Blais, one of Nils Lundkvist or Zac Jones, Ryan Strome, and likely Filip Chytil or K’Andre Miller. That’s certainly a step up from last year’s unit, but the key will be getting them to produce scoring chances regularly. Lundkvist should help in that regard, and Blais has shown net front ability already.

3. Igor Shesterkin

Elite goaltending isn’t necessarily needed for a team to have success. When we factor in the new coach, new system, and expanded roles for the kids, then Igor Shesterkin getting off to a hot start becomes a key factor. Remember when the Rangers went from John Tortorella to Alain Vigneault? There was about a two or a three month period where the team was wildly inconsistent defensively. Expect the same transition period this year. This means Shesterkin will need to be exceptional to start the season, or the Rangers may find themselves trying to make up too much ground in the winter and spring months.

4. Aggressive forecheck

At the risk of beating a dead horse, the Rangers were not overly aggressive last season. The message never seemed to get through, and the Rangers lacked a consistent forecheck, allowing opponents to gain speed through the neutral zone, which forced the Rangers defenders on their heels more times than not.

Gallant will not change much from a systems standpoint, as NHL coaches really only run one of three forechecking systems. The difference is how the message is delivered to the Rangers, and how they force the opposition into quick decisions that lead to turnovers. This, by design, clogs up the neutral zone more, allowing the Rangers defensemen to step up at the blue line, creating more opportunities for turnovers and transition offense.

Of all the Rangers keys to success, this is the most important.

5. Roster management

Much was made of the Rangers roles this offseason. Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais, Ryan Reaves, and Patrik Nemeth were all brought in to have specific roles with the club. That is good in theory, even if the execution had some major flaws. One of the keys is managing their roles, and ensuring that they, along with others on the roster, are not kept in the lineup at the expense of others performing better.

The focus here will be on Reaves, who likely will not be an 82 game player. Reaves will have a role, as will Julien Gauthier and Dryden Hunt, both of whom project to make the roster as depth forwards. Will Gauthier get more games if he produces? If Goodrow struggles, will he move to the fourth line? What about Vitali Kravtsov, if he struggles? These questions usually answer themselves throughout the season.

If there’s one thing to be confident about, it’s that Gallant is better with roster management than David Quinn.