The New York Rangers currently sit at 2-3-0 on the young season. Typically it would be a bit of a cause for panic within the fanbase and the organization. No team wants to open with three losses at home in their first five games. But anyone watching knows the Rangers deserve better. The last goal scored on MSG ice was scored by Mika Zibanejad during last year’s season finale. After three games, the Rangers hold the record for the longest goalless streak at home to start a season. Looking at their play and at the numbers, it’s clear the Rangers deserve better.

The Penguins, Capitals and Oilers have all come to MSG and the only team that actually deserved their win was Penguins on opening night. As Nick mentioned this morning, the Caps and Oilers both relied on their goalies to steal those games. The Rangers did a great job in both games, creating a lot of pressure in the offensive zone and attacking at every opportunity. The issue is that they just aren’t getting the bounces right now. It’s not often that we say the Rangers deserve better, but they do.

This isn’t just from the eye test of course either. Looking under the hood (via Natural Stat Trick) of the Caps game, the Rangers had a 56.07 CF%, a 2.67 xGF and an xGF% of 58.13%. These numbers back up the fact that they had the better nights in terms of puck possession and shot share.

Stephen Valiquette and his data from Clear Sight Analytics also back up the Rangers domination of the Caps. According to CSA, the Rangers had six high danger chances to the Capitals three, and 11 mid danger chances to the Capitals two. Valiquette also notes last season, for every 8.6 mid danger chances, a team would typically score once. The Rangers got stymied on all 11.  Lindgren was the only thing that kept the Capitals in that game and the stats back it up. 

The Rangers again looked great against the Oilers, peppering Skinner with shots and controlled play for a good majority of the night. The only shot to beat Igor Shesterkin, in a game featuring Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard, was a shot from Trent Frederic. Go figure right?

In that game, the Rangers had a 55.00 CF%, a 1.98 xGF and an xGF% of 60.57! This was yet another dominate game in terms of puck possession and shot share. They were expected to score twice (which again would’ve been enough to beat this Oilers team) and they won the high quality scoring chance category having over a 60.67 xGF%. The advanced stats back up the eye test once again that the Rangers controlled that game.

Going back to our friend Vally and CSA again we see that the Rangers dominated in overall scoring chances yet again. The Rangers had 10 high danger chances to the Oilers three, and had five mid danger chances to the Oilers four. Once again, the Rangers deserved better and Skinner made the key saves when he had to.

Obviously the wins would be better and we would all much rather see a 4-1 start to the season. At the end of the day there is no reason for panic because the Rangers are playing pretty well. Any fans that are at the ledge already, take a step back. Sullivan is coaching well and the Blueshirts are responding to his coaching. Once that first one goes in at MSG, the pressure will lift and we will see this team’s record begin to reflect how well they’re playing. 

Its been 180 days now since the goal horn has gone off. Its been 180 days since the crowd leaped out of their seats at the Garden. Its been 180 days since GOOOOOOOOAALLLLL was chanted by the Garden Faithful. Hopefully the hockey gods can give the Rangers a little luck when they get back from their Canadian road trip and get to the Garden Monday night when they take on the Minnesota Wild at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

More About: