Rangers make rare change on first power-play unit 

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Rangers’ power play has been one of the top extra-man units in the NHL since Artemi Panarin joined the group in the summer of 2019. And three different coaches — David Quinn, Gerard Gallant and Peter Laviolette — have kept the first unit together.

The only changes that did come were because of injury or players leaving the roster. Adam Fox took over at the point for Tony DeAngelo and Vincent Trocheck replaced Ryan Strome. Otherwise, the Rangers’ power play wasn’t broke, so there was no need to fix it.

Now it’s a different story.

After dropping Mika Zibanejad from the first unit midway through Saturday’s 6-2 loss to the Lightning and replacing him with Alexis Lafreniere, Laviolette stuck with the new look on Sunday at the Florida Panthers’ practice facility.

“It’s not working,’’ Laviolette said when asked why he switched things up. “We’re working on things, we’re trying things. If eventually they’re not working, you’ve got to move things around a little bit. I don’t know if it’s permanent or not, but right now, that’s where it’s at.’’

The Rangers have lost 14 of their last 18 games and the power play — typically one of their biggest weapons — has not helped them.

The unit went 0-for-4 on Saturday and allowed two shorthanded goals. But the man-advantage struggles go further back than one game. The Rangers haven’t scored a power-play goal in their last seven games, going 0-for-20 during that span.

For the season, their 17.9% success rate ranked 23rd of 32 teams entering Sunday.

Laviolette moved Lafreniere up to the first unit with Fox, Chris Kreider and his linemates, Panarin and Trocheck. Zibanejad, who has only six goals and 21 points in 35 games and a plus/minus rating of minus-21 (tied for fourth-worst in the league), dropped to the second unit with Filip Chytil, Reilly Smith, Will Cuylle and K’Andre Miller.

Zibanejad said he isn’t taking the demotion personally.

“I don’t think that there’s time for that right now,’’ he said. “This has nothing to do with me personally or [is] something that I’m gonna make it about myself. We’re not in a place in our season to feel sorry for yourself or to be like that.

“I think everyone is just trying to find a way to win. If this is going to help us win, then that’s what we’re trying to do. And there’s nothing to it. If we get a power play, I’m hoping I still get out there. [But] I don’t mind if I don’t get out there because we score with the other unit.’’

Because Lafreniere is a lefthanded shooter and Zibanejad a righthander, changing up the personnel on the two units does balance them out a little better.

The original first unit with Zibanejad had four righthanded shooters on it. Kreider, the net-front guy, was the only lefty. The original second unit with Lafreniere had all lefthanded shooters, so switching Lafreniere and Zibanejad gives the second unit a righthander to take one-timers from the left circle.

“It’s nice to have a righthanded shot [on the second unit] because it was five lefties,’’ Chytil said. “And from one side, it’s nice that everybody is open for a one-timer, but when the puck is on the other side, it’s little harder.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.