theathleticuk
COLUMBUS, Ohio — J.T. Miller expressed general satisfaction with the New York Rangers' effort in a 1-0 overtime defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, but one aspect of the team's performance left him frustrated afterward.
"Sucks the power play can't come up with one (goal) in the third," he said. "You get three cracks in the third, you've got to help the team."
Columbus indeed took three minor penalties in the final period, yet the Rangers managed only four shots during their six minutes with the man advantage. That dropped New York's power play to 16th in the league with a 20 percent conversion rate.
"I don't think we got in (the zone) as clean," Miller said. "We didn't come up with the contested pucks in the corners. I felt like they did. We, to a man, understand that you get three power plays in the third, nothing-nothing (score) on the road, you have to step up there."
Coach Mike Sullivan added: "It was one of those nights. It was just a struggle to get one."
Special teams play is crucial for the Rangers. Despite a solid 6-3-1 record, the team has a sub-50 percent expected goal rate at five-on-five, according to multiple analytics models. Natural Stat Trick has them at 46 percent, MoneyPuck at 49.45, and Evolving-Hockey at 48.36. Consistently winning the special teams battle can compensate for that, as the Presidents' Trophy-winning 2023-24 squad demonstrated by ranking third league-wide in both power play and penalty kill. But if those units falter, New York's five-on-five play must improve for the team to succeed.
Miller felt the power play was cleaner Thursday in New Jersey than Saturday in Columbus, despite a 7-1 loss to the Devils. Offseason acquisition Pavel Dorofeyev — who scored 20 power-play goals last season with the Vegas Golden Knights — netted his first with the Rangers in that game.
Miller also noted that, despite the lack of goals Saturday, New York still generated a few solid looks. Dorofeyev put a one-timer on goalie Jet Greaves, and Sullivan liked a few passes Adam Fox made to Miller that he said very easily could have gone in at the front of the net. The team's best chance came with the second unit on the ice. Oliver Bjorkstrand got behind Zach Werenski and flicked a puck past Greaves, but it hit the crossbar. The winger threw his head back in frustration.
"When we're executing at a high level, we can compete with the best power plays in the league and we can be one of the best power plays in the league," said Sean Durzi, who kills penalties and is on the second power-play unit. "That's just something we've got to touch up on."
Despite the power play's inconsistent start, New York's special teams have been strong overall. The Rangers have six power-play goals and have allowed only two, thanks to a penalty kill that has begun the season on fire. New York has killed off 93.5 percent of the penalties it has taken, good for second in the league, and went a perfect three-for-three against the Blue Jackets. That included a kill that spilled into overtime: 1:27 of it was at four-on-three, even harder to defend.
The underlying numbers back up the Rangers' success. The sample size is small, but the fact that they rank in the top five in expected goal suppression while short-handed, according to Evolving-Hockey, is encouraging.
"It's the same as the power play, it's confidence-driven a lot of times," Miller said. "When you're confident, your feet move faster, you make plays faster, you're not thinking. And right now on the PK I think we're doing a really good job of limiting the Grade-As that we're giving up. Applying a lot of pressure."
Sullivan added: "There's been a lot of collective effort. When they are aggressive, it's cooperative pressure. It's not isolated pressure. They're doing a lot of the little things. The thankless jobs. They're winning faceoffs, they're getting clears, they're blocking shots. They're making good reads."
Dylan Garand, who made 28 saves against the Blue Jackets, called the unit one of the team's strong suits and pointed to its successful five-on-three kill against the Devils.
"Lots of buy-in from our guys, lots of blocked shots," the goalie said. "We're just working hard and outcompeting them on the PK, and that's leading to our success."
Other Notes from the Road
By calling up Justin Dowling and Taylor Raddysh and sending down 20-year-old Cole Beaudoin and 23-year-old Jaroslav Chmela, the Rangers moved away from a young fourth line in favor of a more veteran one. Sullivan acknowledged before Saturday's game that the Rangers are trying to find a more effective fourth line. With Joseph Veleno hurt, Sullivan hasn't trusted the fourth line with many minutes. Dowling has averaged only 7:04 in two games since coming up, and Bjorkstrand has played under 10 minutes in five of the past seven games. The line's metrics were solid against the Blue Jackets, though the limited ice time makes it hard to draw sweeping conclusions. In 5:43 of Bjorkstrand-Dowling-Raddysh together at five-on-five, New York had 79.01 percent of the expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick. Bjorkstrand nearly scored late in the second on a partial breakaway.
Albert Šmits, the No. 5 pick in June's draft, has shown promise in his first 10 NHL games but is also experiencing growing pains as he adjusts to the NHL. He has only five shots on goal through 10 games, and the Rangers have earned only 37.73 percent of the expected goal share when he and defensive partner Braden Schneider are on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. Opponents lead 112-85 in shot attempts in those minutes.
"The mistakes he makes are what I would call mistakes of enthusiasm, where he might chase the game a little bit because he's trying to play in somebody's face or step up and keep the puck alive," Sullivan said recently. "That's one of the biggest challenges I think for young defensemen when they enter this league. But we love his aggression. We love his confidence. We think he has an offensive dimension to his game that might be untapped."
Between Šmits still getting acclimated and all three of the Rangers' primary defensive pairs having sub-50 percent expected goal rates at five-on-five, perhaps Sullivan will consider tweaking his pairings in the coming games.
The Rangers have closed games well this season, and Miller mentioned liking the team's third period again Saturday. Drawing penalties is generally an indication of strong play, and New York drew three and committed only one in the frame. On the year, the Rangers have a plus-five goal differential in the third period, which is tied for sixth-best in the league.
Durzi raves about his New York experience every time he's asked. "I've loved it more than I could even tell you," he said. "It's such a fun city with so many different types of people and fashion and lifestyles, all of that stuff. It's such a cool city with a lot of personalities, and I think I appreciate that."
Originally reported by theathleticuk.