Rangers bold predictions revisited: Shesterkin for Vezina? A Metro title? Ouch

Youd have figured two writers could put together 10 bold predictions for the New York Rangers season that would have featured a few hits with the misses.

But then again, whod have figured this Rangers season would unfold as it has? If wed predicted this, youd be asking us for Powerball numbers.

Advertisement And given all thats gone wrong with the Rangers through the halfway point of this season, we actually came close on a few of these.

On the flip side, well, there are some egregious misses, even with 41 games to go.

Lets dive in.

Shesterkin wins the Vezina Trophy The Rangers did not need to see Igor Shesterkin playing at his 2021-22 Vezina-winning level to decide he was worth locking up for the next eight years at a goalie-record $11.5 million per, but another trophy for Shesterkins display case is nowhere close to happening.

Hes still among the top 10 goalies in the league in goals saved above expected this season, but the .906 save percentage is way behind the elite goalies.

Hes still the most important piece of this team, though, and if he plays at a superhuman level in the back half of the season, there wont be a Vezina but there might be a playoff spot.

Zibanejads offensive numbers bounce back Strike two! Shesterkin isnt much to blame for where the Rangers sit right now, but Mika Zibanejad definitely shoulders some of that blame after an ugly first half.

Hes on pace for 52 points, which would be his lowest 82-game total since he was a young pup with the Ottawa Senators .

And even though plus-minus is a dumb stat, Zibanejads minus-21 stands out for a player who prides himself on his defensive work.

If Zibanejad is still a Ranger next season with his full no-move clause, thats a decision entirely up to him we might be right back here with another bold prediction.

Hes going to need one after this ugly season ends.

Fox sets a new single-season Rangers record for assists by a defenseman At least we didnt say goals, since Adam Fox was stuck on one goal (an empty-netter) through the first half until scoring No.

2 Thursday.

He would need the Rangers power play to go about 40 percent over the back half of the season plus improved five-on-five offense to get to 80 assists this year, but he is on target for a weird sort of anti-Cy Young record.

No NHL player has ever had fewer than five goals and more than 60 assists in a season.

Borje Salming had five goals and 61 assists in 1980-81.

Fox is on pace for four goals and 62 assists.

Advertisement So, not a Rangers record, but certainly one for the weird record books in this weird season.

And in a season as off as this one has been, 60-plus points for Fox isnt all that bad.

The top power-play unit stays the same all year Strike three! And yet we have so many more strikes still to come.

Even if Chris Kreider hadnt gone on injured reserve, there were changes afoot because of the lousy overall play in the last seven weeks.

That includes the power play, which ranked 26th in the league through Wednesday.

Its been 15 years since the Rangers had a power play ranked that low.

So Alexis Lafreniere has risen to the top unit, Zibanejad has bounced back and forth and there might be more changes to come if they cant solve things.

Lindgren plays his last games as a Ranger This one seems destined to come true, most likely before the March 7 trade deadline.

Even if the Rangers were still a top team in the East, Ryan Lindgren s preseason broken jaw and tough sledding since hes returned marked him as a goner, even if it was for nothing in free agency.

Teams love what Lindgren brings; the Rangers do too.

But this team is headed for a restructuring and Lindgren doesnt appear to be part of the future.

Whatever GM Chris Drury can get back in a trade before the deadline maybe a second-round pick and a mid-level prospect? likely outweighs Lindgrens future value to the team.

This seasons breakout offensive surprise? Cuylle Hey, lets feel good about a bulls-eye for a change! Will Cuylle s production has slowed since a hot start, but hes playing the sort of skilled, forceful game in addition to 11 goals, he is fourth in the league with 154 hits that the Rangers are trying to replicate in other spots during this reconstruction.

And like a few of the younger Ranger forwards, Cuylle is doing it with minimal power-play time.

Hes also been a standup player in the postgame locker room all through the slide, delivering critical but necessary words about the state of the team.

Hes part of the next-wave core of Rangers for sure.

The deadline trade addition is an old nemesis Strike four! Alec Martinez is not coming here, mainly because the Rangers are not one veteran defenseman away from contending for a Cup.

There may very well be additions, but there will come subtractions in all likelihood.

So if youre still mad about Game 5 in 2014, youll be fine the rest of the way this season.

Advertisement Edstrom plays at least 5 playoff games Adam Edstrom may well play some playoff games, but its not likely to happen this season unless the Rangers get themselves together in a hurry.

If they do, though, its a safe bet Edstrom would be in the lineup; hes played every game this season.

The rangy 24-year-old forward sure looks like a future fourth-line mainstay on the Rangers, maybe even a third-liner if he can get his offensive game together.

Thats one positive development in a season so far littered with negatives.

So if theres postseason play for these Rangers, Edstrom will get a spin.

Can we count this as half-right? A second straight Metro Division title What strike are we up to now, six? When they were 12-4-1, this one looked possible, even with the underlying defensive issues.

Now ...

not possible.

Even if the Rangers play .750 points-percentage hockey over the back half of the season, thats still just over 100 points, which wont be good enough as the Washington Capitals , New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes start to gobble up points on all those mediocre Eastern Conference teams.

Once upon a time you know, like seven weeks ago we thought the Rangers were one of those teams that would feast on the mediocrity.

Ah, memories.

Devils and Rangers meet again in the playoffs and the result is the same This one could still happen so we wont close the door on it yet.

If the Rangers get themselves together and sneak into one of the wild-card spots and if the Devils manage to pull out the Metro Divison title, this could be a first-round matchup.

Lots of ifs there, but thats all we have for now.

And if, somehow, this is a second-round matchup as we boldly predicted, well then I think youd have to call that a success for the Rangers given what weve seen to date.

Much like the rest of these predictions, this one almost surely isnt happening.

But if it does, just remember where you saw it first.

(Top photo of Adam Fox: Michael Reaves / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.