Rangers sit atop NHL in power-play efficiency
Rangers players celebrate a power-play goal by center Mika Zibanejad in the second period of an NHL game against the Kings at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 10. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Rangers’ power play, which had an eight-game streak with at least one goal snapped Friday night in Florida, has been at the top or near the top of the league all season. It entered Tuesday’s game against Carolina at Madison Square Garden as No. 1 in efficiency, scoring on 30.9% of its opportunities this season.
“I think there's continuity with our guys,’’ Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said when asked what makes the unit so good. “They've been together [for years] and they understand what they're doing and where they're moving to. It's not stagnant, it doesn't just sit in one place and players don't just sit in one spot and wait for something to happen. If they start somewhere and it's not effective, they move the whole unit around. And I think the fact that it can become interchangeable makes it a little bit more difficult to defend.
“ I also think that there's people that are really good inside of the set positions,’’ he continued. “Whether it be the guy at the top [Adam Fox] or whether it be the guy at the net front [Chris Kreider] or the guy in the middle [Vincent Trocheck]. I think there's guys that are really good at what they do.’’
The unit had scored 34 goals in 110 power-play opportunities, with Artemi Panarin and Kreider leading the way with eight power-play goals each. Mika Zibanejad had six and Trocheck five. Panarin led the team with 15 power-play assists. Fox had 14 in 25 games.
Anisimov joins Hartford
Former Rangers forward Artem Anisimov signed a PTO with the Hartford Wolf Pack farm team. Anisimov, 35, was a second-round pick by the Rangers in 2006 and played in 244 games for them from 2008-2012, registering 46 goals and 62 assists. He also played for Columbus, Chicago and Ottawa, and last played in the NHL in the 2020-21 season for Ottawa.
Blue notes
Igor Shesterkin, who had won his last five starts, started in goal for the Rangers… D Zac Jones was the lone scratch… Former Rangers D Tony DeAngelo was a healthy scratch for Carolina, and Jesper Fast missed the game with an injury.
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.
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