The Rangers have wasted no time showing that special teams could be a real strength early in the season.
After opening with a 3-0 loss on the road to the Boston Bruins, New York responded with back-to-back wins and did it by leaning hard on the power play and penalty kill. First came a 5-1 home-opening win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, then a 2-0 road victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
The biggest swing has come with the man advantage. Last season, the Rangers finished fifth in the NHL on the power play at 24.65%, a mark that stood out even with Artemi Panarin gone and despite the cold stretches they dealt with. They picked up right where they left off after going 0-for-1 against Boston, scoring on the power play in each of the next two games.
Against Tampa Bay, the Rangers went 1-for-2. Mika Zibanejad scored with assists from Adam Fox and Pavel Dorofeyev. In Detroit, New York converted again, going 1-for-4 when Sean Durzi scored his first goal with the team, with Will Cuylle and Gabe Perreault picking up the assists.
On the other side of special teams, the Rangers have been even better. They’ve killed all 10 penalties they’ve faced so far, a clean sheet that has helped carry them through the first stretch of the season.
There’s plenty of credit to go around there. The goaltenders have handled the tough moments, and the defensive structure has held up as well. That matters, especially after New York ranked 15th in the NHL last season with a penalty kill of 79.92%.
The early numbers point to a team that is getting a lot out of those situations. If the Rangers can keep that power-play production rolling while tightening up at even strength, they’ll give themselves a strong foundation moving forward.
In Other News...
Rangers Affiliate Offers An Early Depth Boost Fans Will Notice
The Hartford Wolf Pack opened their 2026-27 season in encouraging fashion, heading to Lehigh Valley and leaving with a 5-2 road win over the Phantoms. For a Rangers organization always watching for usable depth, it was the kind of opening night that mattered beyond the standings, with Taylor Raddysh, Jacob Gaucher, Juuso Prssinen, Lucas Vanroboys and Cole Beaudoin all factoring into the result as Hartford worked through an early back-and-forth game.
The Wolf Pack had to answer two deficits before taking control with three unanswered goals in the third period, a stretch that showed both resilience and a little finishing touch. Beaudoins first professional goal stood out in the box score, while Vanroboys and Prssinen helped tilt the game late and give Hartford a start that should register with anyone tracking the next wave of Rangers help. [Read more 🡒]
Vincent Trochecks MSG Return Will Hit Rangers Fans Hard
Vincent Trochecks next trip back to Madison Square Garden figures to land with a little extra weight for Rangers fans. He spent four seasons in New York and turned in some of the best hockey of his career there, becoming a dependable presence in the middle of the lineup and a player who fit the markets demands. Along the way, he also added an Olympic gold medal with Team USA, giving his Rangers run a rsum line that only made the bond feel stronger.
Now the Rangers are moving on with new faces starting to filter into the roster, while Trocheck heads to an up-and-coming Utah club that reached the playoffs last season. Even so, the memories from his time in New York are still fresh, especially his strong 2024 postseason, and that is what will make the reception at MSG feel more personal than routine when he comes back in a different sweater. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Tweak A Winning Formula Ahead Of A Big Early Test
The Rangers are only three games into the season, but they are already making a small tweak to a lineup that has gotten them off to a 2-1 start. Ahead of their matchup with the Utah Mammoth, New York adjusted its forward groups without making any other reported changes, a sign the coaching staff is willing to keep fine-tuning even while the early results have been positive.
Tye Kartye has been moved into a more prominent spot, while Oliver Bjorkstrand is sliding down into a more limited role with Joe Veleno and Jaroslav Chmelar. It is the kind of shuffle that can say plenty about how a team is trying to balance chemistry, production and matchups, especially with a bigger early-season test now on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]