The New York Rangers have had the best start to the season of any team in the Metropolitan Division. They currently have a 12-3-1 record and are 8-1-1 over their past 10 games. With the rest of the Metro around them playing inconsistent hockey, the Rangers are primed to win it for the first time since the 2014-15 season, when they also won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s best regular-season team. If the Rangers can continue their strong play throughout the season, they should have no issues being in first place come the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Rangers Off To Best Start In Franchise History
Prior to playing and losing in their 16th game of the season against the Dallas Stars, this Rangers team became the first in franchise history to win 12 of the first 15 games of the season. While the Rangers were expected to be a top-three team in the division, it wasn’t expected they would get off to one of the best starts in franchise history. One of the reasons for that is the new head coach, Peter Laviolette. Many fans were not high on his signing, but early on, he has proven to be a better coach than Gerard Gallant ever was. Laviolette has implemented a system that is working and it works because the players have bought in. If the players continue to play this system and play it well, they are going to be a hard team to face when the playoffs come around.
Another reason why the Rangers have gotten off to a great start is due to their biggest superstar player. Artemi Panarin has gotten off to the best start of his career with 26 points in 16 games and he set the Rangers record for the longest point streak to start a season with 15 games with at least a point.
There was tons of doubt around Panarin after his abysmal playoff performance last season, but so far this season, he has proven his doubters wrong and he is making the players around him better. Alexis Lafreniere and Vincent Trocheck are playing their best hockey on a line with Panarin and they have been the team’s most dangerous line.
Rest Of The Metro Is Hot And Cold
While the Rangers have been playing at a consistent level all season, the rest of the teams in the Metro have been playing 50/50 hockey. For example, the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils were expected to be fighting for the top spot in the division this season, but both teams have had some serious struggles early on. The Hurricanes have a 10-7-0 record and are currently fourth in the division while the Devils have a 8-7-1 record and are currently sixth in the division. The major issue with both teams has been their goaltending. The Devils are currently the fourth-worst team in goals against per game, while the Hurricanes are in the middle as the 16th. On the other hand, the Rangers are the third-best team in goals against per game and the goaltending is a key difference as to why each team is where they are in the standings.
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Other teams in the Metro have been playing inconsistently as well. The Pittsburgh Penguins were expected to bounce back this season, but they are currently 9-8-0 and sit fifth. Two of the teams who were expected to struggle were the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals, they are second and third, respectively. While they may be there now, both of those teams have also been on hot and cold streaks. The Capitals are 8-1-1 in their last ten after an abysmal start. Will these teams be able to keep it up or will the other top teams figure out their issues and work their way back to where they were expected to be in the first place?
Rangers Must Stay Consistent
While the rest of the Division is playing inconsistently, the Rangers need to keep playing at a consistent level. At any point in time, one of these teams could figure it out and start winning more games and if the Rangers’ game starts to slip, they could be in trouble. They need Panarin to continue to play at his current level, but also need Mika Zibanejad to turn his game around. He’s always gone into slumps like this over the past few seasons and since the team is playing well, he’s gotten away with not scoring. If things start to go wrong and he’s still not scoring, then that’s where the problem would occur. Zibanejad needs to turn his game around and he must do it sooner than later.
If the Rangers are able to hold on to first place in the Metro, it will be a big advantage for them going into the playoffs. They will have the home-ice advantage against any opponent and if they know near the end of the season they’ll win the division, they could rest their top players before the playoffs and allow them to be as fresh as possible going into the toughest time of the hockey season. This strong start for the Rangers has given them the boost they need to win the Metropolitan Division once again.