The New York Rangers, the second youngest team going into this playoff bracket have some upcoming stars. I wanted to talk about how the Rangers can be a “Dark Horse” or an underdog team going into this playoff run.
The Rangers are a very talented young roster and can be an underdog with a few scenarios:
Goaltending
Igor Shesterkin, who had a strong first impression with the Rangers posted a 10-2 record with a great .932% save percentage. Igor looked very comfortable in goal for the amount of starts he had. He can be a huge piece to the puzzle did you his high hockey IQ and extremely good puck movement with solid puck handling. Also, Henrik Lundqvist, the veteran, who has quite the career with 61 playoff wins. The Rangers play the Carolina Hurricanes and Henrik Lundqvist has great success against them.
Young Raw Talent
The Rangers coming into this have an average age of 25.2, just one percent higher than the Chicago Blackhawks who have an average of 25.1. Kaapo Kakko took a huge step according to the coaching staff and looked great vs the Islanders despite the fact that they ended up dropping that game 2-1.
Filip Chytil is another young and talented forward who can make a huge difference in this upcoming series with his slick hands and nice wrist shot. Filip Chytil tallied the only goal in the exhibition game vs the Islanders. Also, the Rangers have young defensemen Adam Fox who they picked up during the offseason and it paid off big time. Despite the fact that Adam Fox was not a Calder finalist, he said he wasn’t disappointed in it.
Offensive Power
The Rangers have very good scoring power with leading scorers such as Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejed, Chris Kreider and many other names. Mika Zibanejed led the league with a 0.72 goals per game average. Mika put up 41 goals this year, which was 5th in the league as well. Artemi Panarin was another good asset the Rangers acquired in Free Agency who leads the team with 95 points.
Photo: BL Station
