With an embarrassment of playmaking riches, the New York Rangers understandably have one of the best power plays in the NHL this season.
After going 1-for-2 in Sunday night’s 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators, their conversion rating at 26.24% is No. 3 in the league only behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues.
If only they had more opportunities.
The Rangers rank 22nd in the NHL in power-play opportunities this year, punctuated by a three-game stretch in which they’ve only had four man-advantage opportunities. They’ve performed at a 50% clip during that span (2-for-4), including the game-winner from Artemi Panarin midway through the second period on Sunday in Ottawa.
“It was huge. I think we had two power plays total tonight. They buried the first one on a great shot by [Panarin] and then the second one, we had two or three really good chances,” Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant said. “We have some skill on our power play and it’s been going real good this year so far and we have to keep it going.”
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New York’s power-play has been especially hot as of late. Over their last 10 games, they’ve converted 12-of-29 man-advantage opportunities — good for a robust 41.3% conversion rate. That’s an especially important figure when seven of those 10 games have been decided by two goals or fewer.
With a few more days off to rest off in what is their slowest stretch of the season — they’ve played just three games since Feb. 2 — the Rangers now have two vital divisional games against the Washington Capitals on Thursday and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. New York is looking up at the Penguins, who sit in second in the Metropolitan Division one point ahead of the Blueshirts and have a four-point cushion over fourth-place Washington.
The Capitals will enter MSG with a below-average penalty kill this season, ranked 19th at 79.02%. But they’ve been better their last four games, killing off 87.5% of their penalties.
Pittsburgh provides a completely different challenge for the Rangers’ power-play unit, owning the second-best penalty kill in the entire league at 86.51% this season. But that doesn’t mean they’re entirely impenetrable. Over their last 12 games, they’ve allowed seven power-play goals on 26 opportunities for a far less impressive rating of 73%.
“You always have to be ready,” forward Mika Zibanejad said. “We go through stretches where you have a lot of power plays and some stretches where you don’t. With our group, we’re just used to each other so when we have to bear down, we do that.”
