32 in 32 Day 25: The Kids are Alright, and These Rangers are For Real

2021-2022 Season Recap

• Record - 52-24-6 (110 points), 2nd in the Metropolitan Division

• Goals For: 254 (16th in the NHL), Goals Against: 207 (2nd in the NHL)

• Leading Goal Scorer - Chris Kreider (52)

• Leading Point Scorer - Artemi Panarin (96)

Expectations weren't particularly high for the New York Rangers going into the 2022 season. They had shown glimpses the season prior of how good they could potentially be, but they weren't being looked at as real contender in the Eastern Conference just yet. I'll even admit that I thought of them as a bubble team last preseason. There was simply no way of knowing that one of the youngest teams in the league with a new head coach could come within two wins of a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. And yet, by the time that happened, I wasn't all that surprised. Now with just a week until opening night at the Garden, this group has its eyes set on one thing and one thing only: bringing a Stanley Cup back to the Big Apple.

If they were to win it all, it would be in much different fashion than their runs during the Lundqvist era. Those teams in the late 2000s early 2010s were so defense oriented and no true gamebreakers on offensive side of the puck. Their highest point scorer when they went to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014 was Mats Zuccarello with 59 points. Chris Kreider's 52 goals last season would have been the third highest point total on that 2014 team. It goes to show how much this team (and this league) has changed over the past eight years. This past season was the first time since 1994 where the team had four or more 70 point scorers. It was the first time in God knows how long since they had a top 5 powerplay in the league. For as long as I've been a fan of this team, I don't remember a year where they were this exciting to watch. There is a new sense of belief within the organization and the fanbase that this year could be even more magnificent than last.

There are so many things that I want to touch upon from last year, but I have to start with Gerard Gallant. A couple years removed from his time with the Vegas Golden Knights where he took them to the Stanley Cup finals in their inaugural season, Gallant seemed destined to be the next coach of the Rangers. GM Chris Drury was able to bring in the 2018 Jack Adams Award winner, and did he ever prove to be the right man for the job. In his first season on Broadway he led the team to the 50 win mark for just the 5th in their storied history, earning himself another nomination for the Jack Adams..

Gallant wasn't the only thing that changed the confidence level in the locker room. Chris Drury traded for heavyweight Ryan Reaves, a former player under Gallant, to add some much needed toughness to their young lineup. Known for his physical play and fighting ability, Reaves adds a different element to a team. His presence alone reminds opponents that if they mess with any one of Reavo's teammates they will have to deal with the likes of him. No one wants to poke that bear and because of that it allows the skill players to play more freely. The Reavo effect is very much a real thing. He's been to the players 11 straight seasons, a streak that will more than likely be extended to 12.

I'll be the first to admit, if it weren't for the brilliance of Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers don't win 52 games last season. Igor was a menace last season. He brought his best stuff every night, and bailed his team out on countless occasions. Leading the league with the lowest goals against average and highest save percentage, he was the runaway winner of the Vezina Trophy with 29 of a possible 32 first place votes. Despite winning the Vezina in a landslide and receiving the third most votes for MVP, Shesterkin wasn't an all-star, which still makes no sense to me. Nevertheless, it was clear who the best goalie in the world was last year. We Rangers' fans are so spoiled to have Igor as the rightful heir to King Henrik's throne. Long may he reign.

Igor kept the Rangers in just about every game he appeared in, both regular season and playoffs. Every night he made what felt like dozens of out of this world saves that the Blueshirts rallied behind, giving them the belief that they can win any game. This sense of belief is why they were able to come back in so many games. Their 27 come from behind victories, which was the second most in the league, helped turn the "No Quit in NY" mantra into a mindset engrained in each player's brains. They always played with resiliency under David Quinn, but the structure that Gallant added along with Igor's historic season catapulted this club into a serious contender in just one season.

This was the first time the Rangers made the postseason since 2017, and many players on their roster were making their playoff debut. Things didn't start off quite they way they'd hoped. They lost in heartbreaking fashion in Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Rangers thought they had scored the go ahead goal late in the third, but it was reversed as the officials deemed Kaapo Kakko interfered with the goaltender. This game would then require not one, not two, but nearly three more periods to decide a winner. Igor made an astonishing 79 saves, but an Evgeni Malkin goal in triple OT put the Rangers in an 0-1 deficit and gave Pittsburgh home ice advantage for the rest of the series.

I think at this point we are all aware of what happened after the Rangers went down 3-1 in the first round series. Crosby went down in Game 5, Igor found his groove once again, and the team climbed back to force a Game 7 at the world's most famous arena. I'm a firm believer that if Crosby doesn't get hurt in Game 5 the Penguins close out the series that night. I was actually happy that Sid suited up for Game 7. The first reason being you never root for an injury, especially to a guy who has a history with concussions. More importantly, if the Rangers won and Sid wasn't in the lineup then there's an asterisk next to the series. I didn't want that for this club. I wanted them to win against the best that their opponent had to offer. They did just that. In a true back and forth game, one that I was lucky enough to witness in person, the Rangers were able to take down the Penguins in the same heartbreaking fashion the were dealt in Game 1. Mika Zibanejad tied it with just under six minutes left to go in the third, and then Artemi Panarin scored at the tail end of a Rangers' powerplay to win the game in overtime. It was the loudest I have ever heard in the Garden in all the times I've been there. The roar of pure elation is something I will never forget. They had little time to celebrate the victory as they had to be in Raleigh the next night.

The Carolina Hurricanes were also coming out of a seven game series of their own against the Boston Bruins. They continued their winning streak at home taking the first two games by playing their suffocating style of defense and playing the matchup game. They gave them no clear zone entries and them dump and chase the for the entirety of each game. The Rangers had no answers and couldn't generate any offense against the Canes defensive front. On the flip side, the Canes couldn't figure out Igor and the Rangers defense either. They had tons of offensive zone time but were only able to generate 26 shots in the Game 1 overtime win, and 22 shots in Game 2. There were enough positives for the Rangers to bring back to New York, the biggest one being the Kid's Line. Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere, and Kaapo Kappo each held their own in the Penguins series, but it was how they performed against Carolina that got Rangers' twitter buzzing. They were easily the best line for the Blueshirts in the first two games when the big guns were held in check. The series shifted back to MSG where two ungodly performances by Igor Shesterkin complimented by the offense finally clicking helped the Rangers even things up.

At some the Hurricanes were going to have to win a game on the road. They were a completely different team when they were away from PNC Arena and not in a good way. After a dominant win in Game 5, Carolina had a chance to finally win a road game and close out the series. They couldn't get it done. They outshot the Rangers by a ton, but weren't able to generate many high quality chances. When they did, Igor stood on his head just as he had done the five games prior. The Rangers offense, on the other hand, couldn't seem to miss. They scored three goals on their first 13 shots and blew Carolina out of the building winning 5-2. The Kids line made the most of their limited ice time with Filip Chytil scoring twice. All the Hurricanes had to do was win once on the road, but instead they gave the Comeback Kids hope, which is the last thing they should have done. The Rangers crushed Carolina in the seventh and final game of the series. Adam Fox scored the ever important first goal of the game as a powerplay expired and the team never looked back. They would go on to win 6-2 with the New York fans in attendance being the only ones left in the building when time expired. I found this to be a fitting ending as the Canes restricted ticket sales to North Carolina residents only in order to prevent fans of the visiting team attending. This marks two series wins where the team was trailing by at least two games in each. An incredible run from such a young group. However, the magic would soon run out.

They say in order to be the best you have to beat the best. Well, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been the best team in the world for the past two seasons winning back to back Stanley Cups. Appearing in 6 of the last 8 Eastern Conference Finals, the Bolts are the one true juggernaut of the past decade. They were easily the toughest team the Rangers faced to this point in playoffs, but they were more than capable of taking down the defending champs. The Rangers wound up winning the first two games, extending their winning streak to four straight and their winning streak on home ice to eight games. The Kid's Line had their best shift in all of playoffs in Game 1, and the rest of the team followed suit in defending the Garden. It was the first time all of playoffs that the Rangers had a lead in a series. Game 3 in Tampa was right there for the taking before it all started to go downhill. They jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after back to back powerplay goals. But a bad penalty shortly following the second goal was all Tampa needed to find life again. The Lightning owned the rest of the game after Nikita Kucherov scored to cut the lead in half. They ended up putting 52 shots on Shesterkin who was once again brilliant beyond words. Ondrej Palat finally got the lone goal they needed with just 42 seconds remaining and brought Tampa right back into the series. Once that happened, you could feel a seismic shift in momentum. The Lightning didn't look back and ended up closing out the series in six games. The Rangers just weren't quite ready for the moment, and Tampa has been there before. Still it was a remarkable run that showed just how good this team is going to be in the coming years.

The team found themselves in a bit of a bind this past offseason. With their current cap situation they had to move on from some players who had a sizeable role in getting them to within two wins of a Finals appearance. Ryan Strome, Andrew Copp, Frank Vatrano, Kevin Rooney, Patrik Nemeth, and Alexander Georgiev will all be playing for a different team this season. These departures did open up the door for GM Chris Drury to reel in a top free agent. Looking at what the team needed, I think he brought in the perfect guy in Vinny Trocheck. Spending the previous two seasons with Carolina, Trocheck signed a seven-year $39.375 million contract to reunite with his former head coach. The Rangers were in the bottom half of the league at 5 on 5 play and have been one of the worst faceoff teams since the dawn of time. Trocheck helps the team improve in both of these areas. Having played for Gallant in Florida, and having one of the best playmakers in the world on his wing, look for Trocheck to potentially put up career highs this year.

As we are now only one week away from opening night at the Garden, there are some certainties as well as uncertainties that surround this Rangers team. The one thing that's for certain is that Igor Shesterkin is inevitable. This guy is most talented goalie in the world, bar none. It's safe to expect another Vezina caliber season from him. Next is their special teams. They had the 4th best powerplay and 7th best penalty kill last season. With Trocheck being swapped in for Ryan "I love missing wide open nets" Strome, I can see them having an even better powerplay this year. We also know what to expect from the rest of their top 6 and their top two pairs on defense. Mika and Panarin will be terrific as always and Fox will probably finish in the top 5 of defensive scoring again. What many may not expect is the emergence of K'Andre Miller. He was, in my opinion, the most consistent player during the Rangers' playoff run. I don't remember him having a single bad performance in any game. He's entering the final year of his entry-level and he is looking to get paid. First he has prove he's worth the money. I think Turk will let the former Badger loose this year to show us what he's really made of.

Now to quickly go through some question marks I have for this team. First is the right wing position. They have guys that can play RW, but they don't have anyone currently penciled in at that position on the first line. Who will fill that role? I don't think it will be Vitali Kravtsov as it seems he will be playing alongside his fellow countryman (and everyone's Breadman) on the second line. It could be Kaapo Kakko, but then that means splitting up the Kid Line. It's an incredibly grey area for this team and I'm not sure what Gallant's plan is. I feel like it could be something that Chris Drury addresses at the trade deadline. Until then, it worries me a little bit. The next concern isn't as significant, but is something that is yet to be decided. Who will play with Braden Schnieder on the third defensive pairing? Is it Libor Hajek or Zac Jones? From what I've seen from both guys I'd strongly prefer Jones, but Gallant sees something in Hajek that no one else seems to see. Either way, I hope whatever decision he makes is the right one. The final thing I wanted to touch upon before wrapping this up is Chris Kreider. Before last season, his career high in goals was only 28. He had 26 goals on the powerplay alone last year. He has never been a consistent scorer since coming into the league. Then he scores in what felt like every game. His 52 goals tied Adam Graves for second for the Rangers' single season record. Is that level of production something we should expect him to repeat? I just don't see it, even if he's as lethal on the man-advantage. He'll score a ton of goals this year, no question. But 52?

In less than 7 days the opening night roster will be announced, and for the first time since 2018 there will be someone wearing a "C." Jacob Trouba was named the 28th captain of the Rangers this offseason, and the fourth consecutive American to have the honor. He was the players' choice. He's the right choice. It feels like all this organization has done in this rebuild is make the right choices. Sure some questionable decisions were made, but look at where it's gotten this team. They are in a position to win this year and many years to come. There's not much more you can ask for other than making sure Baba O'Riley is what is played as the team takes the ice. These Rangers are going places and I can't wait to watch.