Where the Rangers Stand With 23 Games Remaining
A quick look at some basic stats. Let's talk hockey.
The next New York Rangers game is February 27th. That's a pretty long wait. Thankfully there will be some Olympic hockey for us to sink our collective teeth into but it should go without saying that it will be some pretty slow going in regards to Rangers news.
I thought this would be a pretty good time to take a look at where the team currently sits in the standings and how the players have performed with just 23 games left on the schedule.
Ranks
PP Rank: 9th, 20.1% | PK Rank: 12th, 82.8% | G/G: 18th, 2.56 | GA/G: 10th, 2.44 | Bigfeet on Team: 1 |
Standings
Team | GP | W | L | OT | P |
58 | 40 | 15 | 3 | 83 | |
Rangers | 59 | 32 | 24 | 3 | 67 |
59 | 30 | 23 | 6 | 66 | |
Blue Jackets | 58 | 29 | 24 | 5 | 63 |
59 | 27 | 23 | 9 | 63 | |
57 | 26 | 22 | 9 | 61 | |
59 | 24 | 22 | 13 | 61 | |
60 | 22 | 30 | 8 | 52 |
Rangers Top Scorers
Player | GP | G | A | P | PIM | PPG | S | TOI/G |
58 | 15 | 28 | 43 | 24 | 4 | 128 | 17:04 | |
59 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 16 | 3 | 192 | 19:01 | |
Derek Stepan | 59 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 12 | 2 | 145 | 18:31 |
58 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 24 | 5 | 115 | 15:31 | |
52 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 64 | 6 | 115 | 16:25 | |
59 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 18 | 1 | 127 | 24:35 | |
42 | 18 | 9 | 27 | 25 | 4 | 174 | 17:12 | |
42 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 14 | 4 | 99 | 17:52 | |
49 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 32 | 0 | 90 | 15:36 | |
Benoit Pouliot | 57 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 41 | 6 | 96 | 12:52 |
PIM Leader: Derek Dorsett, 103 PIM | ||||||||
Player | W | L | OT | GAA | SV% | GS | SO |
22 | 18 | 3 | 2.44 | .918 | 43 | 2 | |
10 | 5 | 0 | 1.79 | .935 | 15 | 0 | |
Tragically eaten by Sharks. | |||||||
There certainly are a lot of surprises in the top ten scorers, aren't there? Who would have thought that the diminutive Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello, who the Rangers only felt comfortable signing to a 1 year deal worth $1,150,000, would be leading the Rangers in assists and points? Who would have thought that Brad Richards would be outscoring Derek Stepan by a significant margin? Who would have thought this team would still be in the playoff hunt despite Callahan and Nash missing a combined 34 games? I'm not sure what the bigger story is; Zuccarello's emergence as a guy the Rangers must re-sign this offseason or Derek Stepan's regression in regards to point production (although I didn't expect Stepan to match the pace he set last season with 44 points in 48 games).
If we took a poll in September, I think most of us would have happily taken being second in the division behind Pittsburgh with 23 games left on the schedule... though we would have liked to not have seemingly every other team in the Metropolitan nipping at our heels. I think we all recognize that the Rangers have a very good chance to get into the playoffs but we are also all aware that this particular team doesn't seem to have the talent, consistency, and chemistry to take some victory laps with the Stanley Cup in a few months time. But you have to admit, since that disastrous home stand in December the Rangers have looked like a different hockey team. I'm not sure what it is but this team, which is 7-3-0 in their last ten games, looks like it is really clicking... just in time for the Olympics to come around and stop the momentum.
So what are your biggest surprises in the first 59 games of the season? Which players are the biggest disappointments? Who do you think is poised to have a monstrous final 23 games? Will the Rangers be buying or selling on deadline day? Let me know what you think in the comments section guys and girls. Please enjoy the Winter Games. I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.
Let's Go Rangers!
