The Rangers didn’t just patch a hole on defense this offseason. They changed the shape of the blue line.
Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson arrived in separate trades, and rookie Alberts Smits was taken fifth overall. Early on, those moves are already paying off. New York has bounced back from its season-opening loss with four straight wins, and the defense group has been a big reason why.
Last season, the Rangers could lean on Igor Shesterkin to keep games tight, but the team didn’t score enough and often had to ride its top pair. Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov were strong together, but Fox missed time in two stints on long-term injured reserve, and New York felt the ripple effect at both ends of the ice.
The deeper issue was balance. Beyond Fox, the defense was mostly built around stay-at-home types, and the Rangers had trouble generating offense or escaping long shifts in their own zone.
That has looked different so far this year.
Pettersson and Durzi have given the Rangers a legitimate second pair. Pettersson has brought the kind of steady, disciplined game that keeps mistakes to a minimum. At 6-foot-4, he uses his frame and reach to clog passing and shooting lanes, and he has been effective on the penalty kill.
Durzi brings the opposite flavor: offense. He already has a goal and an assist in five games, and he has given New York another defenseman who can make things happen on the second power-play unit.
His track record backs it up, too. Durzi tied a career high with nine goals and set a career best with 32 assists in 76 games with the Arizona Coyotes in 2023-24, then finished last season with five goals and 22 assists in 60 games with the Utah Mammoth.
The third pair has been a plus as well. Smits and Braden Schneider have handled their minutes well, and Smits has stood out for the defensive details. He has used his size and strength to win positioning, kept an active stick, played with physicality, and made smart, safe decisions with and without the puck.
That improved depth has let the Rangers distribute the work more evenly. New York has used Durzi and Pettersson against opposing top lines, and they’ve held up well.
They’ve also helped the team move the puck cleanly out of the defensive zone instead of simply throwing it away under pressure. The penalty kill has benefited, too, and Fox is spending less time there than he did a year ago.
That matters for the top pair, and especially for Fox. He is averaging 21:09 of ice time per game after logging 23:38 per game last season. The idea is simple: fewer penalty-kill minutes should mean fewer blocked shots, fewer hits, and less wear over the long haul.
The rest of the lineup has helped lighten the load as well. Instead of leaning on one or two lines the way they did last season, the Rangers have gotten contributions from all four. They’ve also been aggressive on the forecheck, while smart pinches from the defense have helped them keep the puck in the offensive zone.
That style showed up in the Rangers’ 2-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 2 and again in their 5-2 victory over the Islanders on Oct. 6, when they were able to protect one-goal leads by keeping play tilted in the right direction.
It’s still early, but the blueprint is clear. Fox and Gavrikov have looked strong on the top pair, Durzi, Pettersson and Smits have settled in quickly, and the Rangers are getting more from all four lines. The challenge now is keeping that balance intact as the season goes on.
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