Rangers still wrapping their heads around Mike Sullivan’s offense

EDMONTON, Alberta — The Rangers have not yet mastered the style of play they are working to implement as part of a new identity under head coach Mike Sullivan, but how could they in just 11 games?

When it’s as physically demanding and systematically detailed as it appears to be, the consistency may be a difficult element to nail down in the early days. Considering just how different Sullivan’s idea of a team game is compared to how they’ve played in the past, the Rangers are clearly in a discovery period as they learn to balance their commitment to both sides of the puck. 

“When we have a semblance of structure and a team game away from the puck, I think we’re a whole lot harder to play against,” Sullivan said Wednesday after practice at Rogers Place. “We cut not only the quantity of chances down, but the quality. And we think we’ve got two pretty solid goaltenders that are going to make some saves for us. That, by nature, is going to give us an opportunity to be in every game we play. And then we can have the ability to create offense through our defense. I still think there’s another level to our offensive game. I think we’ve generated, as I’ve said, we’ve generated a number of scoring chances. It’s not that we’re not getting looks. We had a number of looks last night again. 

Rangers’ J.T. Miller, back left, misses the open net behind Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko. AP

“Bread [Artemi Panarin], for example, had three grade-A looks. He had two on the power play, and then he had one five-on-five when he was all alone at the net front. I mean, if he continues, get looks like that, I have to believe they’re gonna go in the net. Mika [Zibanejad] scores a great goal. We had a number of deflection opportunities. JT [Miller] was all around the blue paint.” 

Win or lose, the Rangers have limited opponents to two goals or less in six of their first 11 games. Between goalies Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, opponents are always going to know what kind of challenge they’ll face in net when playing the Blueshirts. 

Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan looks on against the Vancouver Canucks. Getty Images

The low-scoring, low-event games the Rangers have found themselves in, however, reflect positively on the soundness of their defensive structure. 

Many of the Rangers’ first handful of games saw only one goal scored in the first 40 minutes of play. Even their first win of the season in Buffalo was a 1-0 game from the 11:43 mark of the first period until the Rangers scored again at 14:46 of the final frame. 

The Rangers have also given up the ninth-fewest shots against per game at 26.1. 

Despite owning the second-lowest goals-against-per-game average of 2.36, the fact that the Blueshirts also have the second-lowest goals-per-game average of 2.18 shows just how incomplete the general performance has been to start.

Zibanejad noted that every game has felt tight, which has almost consistently given them a chance to win every night.

“They’re generating offense, we just haven’t scored,” Sullivan said. “So we just got to, you know, stay with it and find another level to our offensive game without compromising and selling out on our team game. And we all know what that looks like when it happens, I think. We don’t think that that’s a recipe for success.”