Three New York Rangers who desperately need to improve their performance before it's too late
The New York Rangers continue to steamroll opponents, and the latest victim was the Islanders on Sunday. The Rangers would dominate and win 5-2 over the Long Island rivals.
Despite that, the New York Rangers do have weaknesses in the lineup, with some players failing to hold up their end of the bargain.
It seems as if the squad is underachieving, and if you're to beat the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals, you need everyone to contribute.
Who could afford to be better for the Rangers in November?
Last season Kreider set a career-high for points and goals with 75 points( 39 G, 36 A) and this season is scoring at a lower clip.
He's scored 7 goals in 11 games, but he's failed to do more secondary scoring, like helping on other's goals. In order to reach the same pace as he did last season, it's likely he'll have to find his playmaking abilities again.
To give you an idea of how much he could improve:
Right now, Kreider's Corsi For at even strength is an abysmal 42.7, and it shows that the Rangers just aren't creating enough with the puck in the offensive zone when he's on the ice. Despite having scored seven times this season, only five on-ice goals have come at even strength, giving him an on-ice shooting percentage of just 8.2.
Kreider has been great on special teams, but it's at even strength where the Rangers need his help the most.
The Rangers 1st overall pick in 2019 has found himself a home on the 3rd line. But this season has seen him score 7 points( 1 G, 6 A) in 11 games.
This could be the best season for Kakko as a Ranger if he can keep his production up. The chemistry with Filip Chytil is something the team needs to keep fostering and growing. But he'll need to prove himself a viable goal scorer this season.
Yeah, Kakko has been a playmaker, but now that we know he can contribute to helping the stars find the net, it's his turn to step up and improve on that 5.3 shooting percentage. If Kakko can find his even-strength scoring touch the Rangers will have a legitimate top-nine forward group in the NHL.
K'Andre Miller has proven himself to be a solid stay-at-home defenseman this season. Miller has 20 blocks, 20 hits, and 7 takeaways this season in 11 games for the Rangers.
While his defensive side is solid, he needs to find the other side of his game which is sorely lacking. In the last two seasons, K'Andre put up 73 points in 159 games, and the Rangers need more from a top-four defenseman.
With only 2 points( 1 G, 1 A) Miller is fast enough to create breakaways and has the ability to be a playmaker. He needs to tape into these again to find the other dimension of his play lacking this year.
He could be one of the Rangers' best defenseman if he can improve his play on the other side of the ice.
POLL |
Who needs to improve their game for the New York Rangers? |
Chris Kreider | 84 | 15.1 % |
K'Andre Miller | 312 | 56.2 % |
Kaapo Kakko | 159 | 28.6 % |
List of polls |
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Previously on NYRangersInsider