Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Rangers can’t score. After putting up 13 goals in two games, the Rangers have scored just five in three games. They have scored more than two goals in a game just nine times out of their 20 games thus far and are a very vanilla team. Sometimes they are tough to play against, but to be consistently tough to play against, the Rangers need to take chances on offense. They are pretty solid defensively, though not perfect (no team is), but it’s the offense that is holding them back. Something needs to change.
You all know the story by now. The Rangers lack creativity on offense, don’t necessarily drive the net to draw defenders and open lanes. They don’t attack those lanes and create more open ice. They shoot directly into the goalie’s chest. There’s little continued pressure, just one chance and they are done. The powerplay is stale and doesn’t move. You all know this because it’s been the theme for a while.
It is no coincidence that the Rangers looked their best on offense when Gabe Perreault was in the lineup. He may not have put up points, but he did many little things well that helped his line generate chances while also giving the Rangers far more offensive depth. In all fairness, Perreault was likely going to stay before the Will Borgen injury forced Scott Morrow’s recall. Since the Rangers still don’t want to lose Matthew Robertson to waivers, they sent Perreault down to eliminate the waivers risk. The Rangers scored just three times in the two games since Perreault was returned.
This formula isn’t working, and though we will likely see Perreault return once the Rangers come back east, the Rangers need to take chances on offense, perhaps at the sacrifice of some team defense for now. Perreault is an obvious need for forward depth, but we’ve been harping on the need for another puck mover, and Scott Morrow is that puck mover.
Morrow may not be the answer, but with the Rangers needing to take chances on offense and a need for a puck mover on the blue line, what’s the risk? Morrow was objectively fine in the 2-1 loss to Detroit. He wasn’t spectacular, he didn’t have any egregious defensive lapses, and he put up good enough puck possession metrics across the board in his 9:46 TOI. For what it’s worth he was paired mostly with Robertson (9:04 TOI) in mostly netural zone/defensive zone starts.
Morrow is far from perfect and he did struggle at the AHL level. But at some point the offense needs to get going, and Morrow’s skill set is one the Rangers sorely need. He’s not a be-all-fix-all, but he would push one of Robertson or Carson Soucy out of the lineup and perhaps bring more balance to the defense, the way Perreault does with the forwards.
The Rangers also need to figure out their game in the offensive zone
One player doesn’t fix a systemic inability to generate offense. This isn’t a problem unique to the Rangers or even to this year’s iteration. Many teams struggle with consistency and we’ve been harping on the Rangers 5v5 offensive woes for a few seasons now. The problem is obviously with the powerplay as well. They just don’t create more than one or two chances in a given shift before retreating.
Generally speaking, coaches don’t coach offensive zone systems. They will coach certain zone entry types, with more skilled players preferring to carry or pass the puck in, with more blue collar lines likely favoring a dump and chase model. There’s no wrong answer, it’s based on comfort and execution. It’s the execution the Rangers are lacking.
Maybe the Rangers just need that extra pinch to keep the zone. Or that one extra effort to get the puck below the goal line to begin a cycle. This appears to be missing from their game as well, in addition to the lack of creativity mentioned above.
If one aspect of the game is working well and one isn’t, common sense dictates a minor tweak to address the issue. The Rangers haven’t made that minor tweak yet. I don’t believe this to be a product of Mike Sullivan’s systems, at least not yet. I think it’s a combination of multiple factors, and most can be addressed with a little fine tuning in the lineup and perhaps one or two extra risks while on the ice. That’s why you pay Igor Shesterkin anyway, to cover up any mistakes that occur while taking these chances.
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