In all the things that have gone wrong this year, if you told any fan that the powerplay would go from elite to 26th in the league, they’d laugh at you. The Rangers powerplay had been one of the best units over the course of the last five years, even as Vincent Trocheck replaced Ryan Strome and Adam Fox replaced some other guy. The Rangers powerplay stinks. It hasn’t scored in their last 15 tries, and is 4 for their last 47. That’s not just bad, that’s atrocious.

To those who have been around for a while, an elite Rangers powerplay was something of a new phenomenon. Past teams were likely held back due to powerplay ineptitude, but not to this level. It’s actually pretty easy to draw a line from this recent 4 for 47 stretch to the Rangers no longer being in the playoff picture.

The Rangers powerplay stinks. Their 4 for 47 stretch is an 8% conversion rate. Even getting up to 20% in that stretch, which would only be 20th in the NHL, would net them an extra 5 powerplay goals in this stretch. It’s not just about quantity of goals either. The Rangers powerplay stinks because they aren’t getting the timely goals anymore. Simply put, they are inept at what should be their strongest on-ice gameplan outside of Igor Shesterkin.

Using last night as an example, one powerplay goal means a tie game and a point in the standings, especially if they get one on the Adrian Kempe penalty in the third period. A powerplay goal against Ottawa–the Rangers went 0-for-2–means they hold onto the lead and get an extra point while also keeping Ottawa from getting a point. The Rangers went 0-for-4 against Winnipeg and lost by one. They went 0-for-2 against Calgary. This all adds up. The Rangers powerplay stinks, and this month it’s cost them at least 6 points this month.

Aside: Yes, I’m cherry picking certain games and examples. It’s not a fair analysis, but this team doesn’t deserve fair anymore. I’m disgusted by what they’ve done this season. The Rangers powerplay stinks, and it’s just one aspect of their game that is terrible right now.

The Rangers powerplay stinks – and it shows powerplays do actually matter

Remember the fun times over the last few seasons, when pundits and stat folks alike were always discounting the Rangers because they were “all powerplay and no substance”? Well it’s funny how things work. It seemed, at that point, that the powerplay was a throwaway stat that, while it should be noted, wasn’t playing a role in any true analysis of the team.

Then the stat folks started losing money betting on their own models, which did not account for powerplay success. The Rangers ran to the Conference Final twice on the backs of their powerplay and Igor Shesterkin. It wasn’t enough to get them over the hump, but it showed there was a gap in the analysis.

Even strength and 5v5 play will always be the most important indicator of success, no one is disputing this. But the gap between 5v5 play and powerplay importance is closing. The Rangers powerplay stinks this year, converting at just 18%, going 33 for 183 this season If they were even league average (22% is 15th in the league), that’s an extra 7 goals (40). If they were top-10 on the powerplay (cutoff is 24%), that’s an extra 10 goals (43). Back to top-five? That’s a 26% conversion rate, or another 14 goals (47).

It’s flawed logic to say this would equate to X number of wins/points, and I called that out above. But the Rangers powerplay stinks and it is very clearly costing them points in the standings and probably a real chance at the playoffs. Conservatively, a functional powerplay likely nets them an extra 5 points in the standings. The East is so bad that essentially locks the Rangers into a playoff spot and gives them a shot at catching the Devils for third in the division.

The Rangers powerplay stinks. It’s something we wrote a lot about before the 2019-2020 season. Now it’s something we need to revisit. Of all the things that went wrong this season, the powerplay is flying under the radar, and it shouldn’t.

More About: