New York Rangers News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Oct 11, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Rangers center Adam Edstrom (84) congratulates defenseman Adam Fox (23) on his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Rangers Playing Their Best Structured Hockey Since 2013-14

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Anthony Russo | Last updated Oct 22, 2025 10:15 AM ET

The record might not reflect it just yet – but the New York Rangers in the early part of their 2025-26 campaign are playing some of the best hockey that they’ve played in years.

For the most part, in the last several years, the organization has found success by highly efficient special teams coupled with elite goaltending. While it was a formula that often worked out in the Rangers’ favor, the five-on-five play was always a weaker component of their teams. Now, it appears new head coach Mike Sullivan is emphasizing even-strength play. Already, his players are embracing the new system, which demands an aggressive forecheck in the offensive zone and zone coverage on the defensive side of the ice.

Rangers Controlling Games and Numbers Back it Up

What are the Rangers doing well as a team right now? Almost everything. Outside of their opening night dud to the Pittsburgh Penguins, they’ve pretty much dictated the play. In all situations, the Rangers rank 7th in Corsi for percentage, 12th in expected goals and have produced the highest amount of high danger chances for this season, according to data from Natural Stat Trick.

When was the last time a Rangers team was this well-structured? You’d have to go back to 2013-14 in Alain Vigneault’s first season as head coach, which marked the last time the organization reached the Stanley Cup Final. The Rangers ranked 5th in both xGF% and CF% during that regular season and were the top team in producing high danger chances.

Injuries and Low Shooting% Holding the Team Back

The scary part is that the Rangers haven’t even reached their full potential as a team, which averaged a shooting percentage of 10.73 from 2022 to 2025. Compare that to the early part of this season, and the percentage drops to 7.02 percent.

Plus, the power play ranks inside the bottom 20. In recent seasons, the Rangers have commanded a top 3 unit. And you know this group, which still features Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, is capable of leading it back to elite form.

Add that to the fact that injuries might be holding the team back a bit as well. Most notably, Vincent Trocheck hasn’t played since Thursday, October 9, and will be forced to miss at least 10 games or 24 days since he was placed on long-term injured reserve. Also, the Carson Soucy (who is now back) injury has forced Sullivan to turn to Matthew Robertson, who has remarkably flourished inside the top four ever since getting the opportunity.

So, the Rangers have managed despite less-than-ideal situations from injuries to rotten puck luck. It’s early on, but Sullivan has his new group finding success inside his new system and the 3-4-1 early record does not reflect the play.

We’ll Know More Closer to Trade Deadline

But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. The current state of the roster remains far from perfect on paper and we’ll likely need to revisit the situation when trade deadline activity starts to see where exactly weaknesses are and where the organization needs to add, assuming the Blueshirts position themselves to buy. Before the season started, I thought the biggest question mark was the left side of the second pair – but so far, Robertson has been impressive and should continue to play that role for Sullivan.

Also, I’m not sure the Rangers envisioned Conor Sheary playing a prominent role inside the top six, especially after only giving him a PTO contract ahead of training camp. If a young prospect like Brennan Othmann and Gabriel Perreault aren’t deemed ready enough to make a large impact this season with the big club – then expect General Manager and President Chris Drury to look for a top-nine scoring winger as we inch closer to the trade deadline.

For now, patience. It’s on J.T. Miller, Panarin and Zibanejad, most notably, to find the back of the net more consistently. But you have to at least be happy about the structurally sound hockey the team is playing; long-term fait is bound to change. Of course, it’s a long season that’s not even a quarter of the way finished.