Where the Rangers Need To Improve the Most: Generating and Preventing Shots From the Slot
The Rangers' struggle isn't about turnovers anymore. It's about not matching opponents' high-danger chances. Kreider and Zibanejad, the team's top line forwards, are underperforming in shot creation. Will they step up, or will the Rangers continue to falter?
With the New York Rangers currently sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division, the most prominent question confronting the team has shifted from, "What do the Rangers need in the Spring?" to, "How do they get out of this pit?"
Earlier this season, I wrote about turnovers and face-offs. Neither of those, however, have been the driving force behind the Rangers' fall in recent weeks. Most can see the truth from the obvious data, whether you believe it's using analytics or not. That the Rangers give up too many chances and don't generate enough is entirely right! Defensive zone turnovers are still a big concern, but they are actually behind successful teams like the Las Vegas Golden Knights and just ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils in that category. So, I looked elsewhere for primary reasons for the lack of winning.
The Rangers are 6th in total unblocked shots against at even strength and nearly 25% of those shots are coming from the slot, which is too high when compared to other teams' percentages. The top right quadrant of the chart below (on the right) is exactly where you don't want to be, and the Rangers are climbing their way there. Only Anaheim is worse in both categories, and only four other teams, plus the Ducks, have higher percentages of shot attempts against from the slot. One of those teams is the Dallas Stars, which has given up the 3rd fewest unblocked shot attempts this season, so it's really an unfair comparison. Either way, not only is being in the top right of the chart a major concern, but this is really not that new. The Rangers have hovered around averaging 11.5 unblocked shots against from the slot through most of the season, and are now 4th in this category in all situations.
