Biggest Priorities for a Successful 26-27 NY Rangers Season
Preseason has concluded for the New York Rangers, who begin their season at TD Garden this Tuesday against the Boston Bruins. Although the games don't affect the standings, fans got a sneak peek at this Rangers team heading into the 26-27 season. There were positives and negatives, but most importantly, there are still things to fix, and if they want this retool to succeed truly, there’s hardly any room for error. As the regular season rapidly approaches, what are the biggest priorities for these Blueshirts?
Stay Out of the Box
Although their AHLers remained disciplined, their big boys couldn’t stay out of the box as often. A big takeaway from their first match against the New York Islanders last Tuesday was how important it is to stay disciplined on the ice. After jumping ahead 3-0 in the first half, the Islanders scored four unanswered goals to complete the comeback, including power-play goals on three of their five man-advantage chances. While it’s good to work through these kinds of mistakes in preseason before the games truly matter, penalties were one of several things that killed the New York Rangers last year; if they want any chance of a bounce-back year, the penalty box must stay as empty as possible.
Breakout Seasons
It’s hard to believe the Rangers 2020 first-overall pick is entering his seventh season in the NHL, though it may have something to do with that breakout season still missing. Since the 23-24 season, Alexis Lafrenière has been given every chance at long last to take the next step as this franchise's next superstar, but the numbers just haven’t been there. After a sudden late-season surge last season, Lafrenière enters this season with what is likely his final chance to prove why he’s a first-overall pick. However, the 24-year-old isn’t the only youngster who’ll need to take the next step; Gabe Perreault will, too. Debuting late in the 24-25 season, Perreault came into last season with high expectations, and although he had a slow start, he finished strong with nine goals in the team's final 23 games. If they pick up right where they left off, fans can definitely see career years from the younglings, which will help steer this team in the right direction, playoffs or not.
Generate Offense
A year ago today, the New York Rangers went into their 25-26 campaign looking to bounce back, but the offense had other plans. If you didn't hear the goal horn at MSG for their first three home games, you've got all you need to know; let's hope this year's offense can be different. In two of their four preseason games against big boys, their scoring chances didn’t scream anything to brag about. New additions like Pavel Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand showed positive signs of what fans can expect, but their regulars will need to step up as well. Veterans will need to be better, youngsters will need to step up, and overall, they must play like they truly care, especially J.T. Miller, coming off a horrific first season as the Rangers' captain. Stay healthy, stay hungry, and most importantly, stay confident, and the offense most likely won't disappoint.
