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Urho Vaakanainen, New York Rangers (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

Rangers Will Struggle to Score Goals With Their Current Lineup

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Brian Abate | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 9:35 AM ET

The New York Rangers opened up the season at home with a disappointing 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 7. While it is just one game, there should be concerns about the team’s failure to generate scoring opportunities, and unless head coach Mike Sullivan makes changes to the lineup, they will likely continue to struggle offensively.

The Rangers’ Defensemen

While the Rangers have an elite playmaker in Adam Fox, they do not have any other offensive defensemen. A few times in the season-opening loss to the Penguins, they had opportunities to take shots through traffic from the point, but either missed the net, opted to pass the puck, or dumped it behind the net.

Besides Fox, the Rangers’ most proven defenseman is Vladislav Gavrikov, whom they signed to a seven-year, $49 million contract this offseason. He is known for his strong defensive play, but he also had one of his best offensive seasons in 2024-25, as he finished with five goals and 25 assists in 82 games with the Los Angeles Kings. While he should be a difference-maker defensively, he should not be relied on offensively.

The Rangers’ second and third defense pairs are comprised of defensive defensemen. Despite struggling late last season, Carson Soucy is on the second defense pair, playing alongside Will Borgen. Soucy finished with four goals and nine assists in 75 games last season, while Borgen finished with five goals and 10 assists in 84 games.

Additionally, the Rangers played Braden Schneider and Urho Vaakanainen together on their third pair. They both finished with career-highs in points and assists in 2024-25 as Schneider finished with six goals and 15 assists in 80 games, while Vaakanainen had two goals and 14 assists in 51 games. Neither member of the pair is known for their offense, but Schneider started the season on the second power-play unit. The hope is that he will continue to develop and improve offensively, but he is known more for his physicality than his skill.

Besides Fox, there is not a lot of offensive skill on the Rangers’ blue line. However, they do have a skilled prospect in Scott Morrow, who could get called up from the American Hockey League (AHL) and contribute at some point this season. He had one goal and five assists in 14 games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season and also had 13 goals and 26 assists in 52 games with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL.

The Rangers’ Forwards

Sullivan opted to move Mika Zibanejad to right wing after he struggled at center last season, and is playing him on a line with J.T. Miller and Will Cuylle. The line needs to produce offensively and has the talent to do so. Both Cuylle and Miller are physical and strong on the forecheck, and all three are good skaters. In the game against the Penguins, they did create some of the team’s top scoring chances, but Zibanejad was unable to capitalize on them.

The Rangers should have another strong line in Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere, and they have developed chemistry after spending most of 2023-24 and last season playing together. They had more success in 2023-24 as Lafreniere had a down season in 2024-25, and the team struggled to find another line that could produce consistently at even strength.

New York’s top two lines both have the potential to be very productive offensively, although they will need to prove that they can consistently be relied on. However, the third line is much more questionable. Rookie Noah Laba played very well in his debut as he was effective on the forecheck and skated well. He produced in the preseason, and the hope is that he will continue to contribute in the regular season.

The Rangers also opted to play veterans Conor Sheary and Taylor Raddysh on the third line. Sheary had success with Sullivan and won the Cup in 2015-16 and 2016-17, but he has struggled to produce in the NHL over his last few seasons. He had four goals and 11 assists in 57 games in 2023-24 and was held without a point in five games last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Raddysh also struggled to produce offensively over the last two seasons, as he had five goals and nine assists in 73 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2023-24 and seven goals and 20 assists in 80 games with the Washington Capitals last season.

On the fourth line, the Rangers played Sam Carrick, Matt Rempe, and Adam Edstrom, who played well together last season. All three are physical, effective on the forecheck, and gritty. They were effective in 2024-25 and the season opener, but should not be relied on offensively, as last season Carrick had six goals and 14 assists in 80 games, Edstrom had five goals and four assists in 51 games, and Rempe had three goals and five assists in 42 games.

If Sullivan does look to make changes, the Rangers’ top prospects Gabriel Perreault, Brennan Othmann, or Brett Berard could get a shot in the lineup. Veteran Jonny Brodzinski could also slot into the lineup as the speedy skater played well last season and finished with 12 goals and seven assists in 51 games.

The Rangers Need to Bounce Back From Their Loss in Opener

After a disappointing 2024-25 season, getting shut out by the Penguins at home was a very frustrating way to start this season. The Rangers have made changes to improve defensively, but like last season, they opted to play veterans with less upside over their top prospects. While that may help them defensively, they do not have a lot of offensive upside on their third and fourth lines or on defense besides Fox, which will put a lot of pressure on their stars to carry the team offensively.