A revitalizing January took the Rangers to the 50-game mark of their 2024-25 season, which was primarily hanging within the steadiness only a month in the past.
The best way it ended, nonetheless, had shades of the dismal 4-15 stretch that just about doomed their playoff hopes.
“I believe we’ve been taking part in some good hockey right here in January,” Mika Zibanejad mentioned after the Blueshirts have been blanked 4-0 Tuesday evening towards the Hurricanes. “Take into consideration this one, really feel no matter you are feeling after a recreation like this after which we transfer on.”
The consensus within the Rangers locker room was to concentrate on how nicely this month has gone for them.
Given how drained workforce morale was from mid-November by way of December, that’s a should for this Rangers workforce.
And so they aren’t within the incorrect for celebrating their 8-2-3 document to begin 2025.
The numbers inform a narrative of a workforce that rediscovered its resilience, willed itself again into rivalry and tightened up its general recreation so as to take action.
As of Wednesday morning, the Rangers scored extra objectives (47) than some other workforce up to now this month.
They have been tied for third in factors with 19, and sat in a five-way tie — with the Blackhawks, Penguins, Devils and Capitals — for essentially the most time beyond regulation loss factors (3).
Their .679 factors proportion was good for tenth within the NHL, whereas additionally choosing up one shootout victory alongside the way in which.
With 39 objectives towards, the Rangers are within the middle-to-upper tier of that class comparatively talking.
A 25.8 power-play proportion and 80 % on the penalty kill additionally ranked the Rangers among the many prime 15 groups. This all whereas averaging 29.4 pictures per recreation and ending 52 % contained in the faceoff circles.
“We’ve carried out a reasonably good job of simply specializing in the sport that we’re taking part in and the factors which might be obtainable and attempting to play one of the best model of our recreation to gather these factors,” head coach Peter Laviolette mentioned earlier than Tuesday’s loss. “I believe for essentially the most half, even a number of the video games we didn’t win, I believe we’ve carried out that. That’s the place we’re at.”
The Rangers have a notable weekend of video games developing, first in Boston for a Saturday matinee towards the Bruins after which at residence towards the Golden Knights on Sunday.
It’ll be a chance for the Blueshirts to indicate how a lot they’ve grown since getting their season again on monitor.
After giving up the sport winner to the Avs with 14.7 seconds left in regulation, the Rangers adopted it up by permitting the Canes to attain 56 seconds into their matchup, in addition to with 31 seconds left within the second.
That’s the workforce’s focus, in line with Artemi Panarin, who’s coming off a four-game level streak however can even make a lot better choices with the puck.
The star Russian wing is much from the one one, together with his linemates Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere in the identical actual boat. Lafreniere additionally had a four-game level streak, however has left a lot to be desired since signing a seven-year extension with the Rangers in October.
Adam Fox has simply three objectives on the season, two of that are empty-netters.
And while you see Cale Makar on the opposite finish of the ice, the dialog of the 2 being revolutionary blueliners after they first got here into the league has since dwindled to 1.
One thing most likely has to alter relating to the Rangers energy play, which is ranked twenty first within the NHL at 19.9 %.
The Rangers can’t maintain letting factors go them by, however that additionally means profiting from the alternatives in entrance of them.
“I do know it’s a workforce recreation, however personally I really feel like there was three large performs that I had the flexibility to affect the sport positively and it swung the opposite means,” Chris Kreider mentioned Tuesday evening. “So, it’s onerous.”