The New York Rangers didn’t get much to hang their hat on in Thursday’s 7-1 loss in Newark, but their penalty kill kept doing exactly what it’s done all season: shut things down.
New York wiped out all four New Jersey Devils power plays, pushing its PK to third in the NHL at 92.9 percent. Only the Toronto Maple Leafs, at 96.2 percent, and the Carolina Hurricanes, at 93.3 percent, sit ahead of the Rangers, and those are the only three teams in the league above 90 percent right now.
The numbers keep climbing. The Rangers have killed 26 of 28 short-handed situations and haven’t allowed a power-play goal since Oct. 6, when they beat the New York Islanders 5-2. They’ve also been perfect on the road, going 10-for-10 on the kill away from home entering Saturday’s game against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.
What’s also changed is who’s doing the work. The Rangers are leaning less on J.T.
Miller and Mika Zibanejad than they have in the past, with Tye Kartye, Noah Laba, Will Cuylle, and Eeli Tolvanen handling most of the heavy lifting among the forwards. Joe Veleno was part of that group before a lower-body injury sidelined him for the next three months.
Per Natural Stat Trick, Zibanejad has 8:52 of 5v4 short-handed TOI and Miller has 5:51, which ranks them sixth and seventh among Rangers forwards in that category this season.
Even in the first period Thursday, when the Devils got a full two-minute 5-on-3, Mike Sullivan still turned to the veteran pair. Zibanejad started the kill with defensemen Vladislav Gavrikov and Braden Schneider, then Miller came on with Sean Durzi and Adam Fox. New Jersey never got a shot on goal during those two minutes.
That sequence stood out even more because two of the Rangers’ top penalty killers - Laba and defenseman Marcus Pettersson - were sitting in the box.
So while the night in Newark was a mess overall, the PK gave the Rangers one clean edge to build on as they move deeper into the early part of 2026-27.
Elsewhere, there’s a fresh look at what comes next in goal now that veteran James Reimer has signed a PTO with Hartford of the American Hockey League, plus a breakdown of the Rangers’ fourth-line issues and how the recall of Taylor Raddysh could help in a few different ways.
And after that loss to the Devils, along with the Raddysh and Reimer moves, there was also a new Rink Rap podcast this week digging into it all.
Around the league, former Rangers center Filip Chytil made a strong season debut for the Vancouver Canucks, playing 18:30 and picking up an assist after a preseason shoulder injury. Canucks coach Manny Malhotra said Chytil “changes the dynamic of our group,”
The Carolina Hurricanes got mixed injury news: Taylor Hall is week to week with an upper-body injury, while Seth Jarvis may be available to make his season debut this weekend after offseason shoulder surgery.
In Detroit, Red Wings owner Chris Ilitch told Max Bultman he’s not ruling out a rebuild, and said the team’s new general manager could be hired early in the season or much later, with no timetable for a new head of hockey operations.
New Jersey Hockey Now took a look at why Timo Meier still hasn’t scored for the Devils this season, while Sportsnet reported that former Rangers forward Vladislav Namestnikov is week to week with an undisclosed injury for the Winnipeg Jets after a slow start of one assist in six games.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now sees a Penguins team fraying after surrendering five straight goals in a 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
And The Athletic examined why five star players, led by Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes, could be traded before season’s end.
Finally, Montreal Hockey Now reported that the Canadiens’ defense pairings are coming together despite a 3-3-1 record, with Adam Engstrom’s addition and Cole Hutson’s move to the top pairing helping stabilize the blue line.
In Other News...
Rangers' Hot Start Is Changing One Big Offseason Pressure
The Rangers have spent the first few weeks of the season making a pretty strong case that their offense can carry more weight than expected, even with Igor Shesterkin out for the year. A 6-3-0 start has been built on depth and production across the forward group, with Alexis Lafreniere setting the tone and multiple skaters chipping in early. For a team that entered the year with questions about how much firepower it could really count on, the opening stretch has offered a reassuring answer.
It also changes the way the front office has to look at next offseason. The market for top scoring forwards was already shaping up to be tight, and some of the names that might have fit the Rangers' wish list are no longer likely to be available after agreeing to long-term extensions. That leaves New York in a familiar spot, with a hot start improving the mood now, while also narrowing the pathways to adding more punch later. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Blue Line Problem Is Turning Into A Bigger Lineup Debate
Through nine games, the Rangers blue line has started to look less like a settled unit and more like a nightly puzzle. The staff has been leaning on Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi in a shutdown role against top competition, but the pairing has not delivered the kind of steadiness the club needs when the matchups get heavy, and the numbers around zone starts, shot share and chances against have only sharpened the discussion.
With the early sample now large enough to raise real questions, the conversation has shifted from simple pairing preference to lineup construction. There are ways to reshuffle the defense and try to find cleaner fits, but the bigger picture remains tangled because Scott Morrows clearest path into the lineup does not appear to be through a routine rotation. For now, the Rangers are left weighing whether a change on the back end needs to come from reworking combinations or waiting for a more significant opening. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Forward Shuffle Opens Door For Another Veteran Chance
The Rangers early-season injury fallout has already forced a steady series of roster adjustments, and the latest shuffle on the forward side gives another veteran a chance to step back into the lineup. With Igor Shesterkin out for the season and James Reimer brought in on a PTO to help stabilize the goaltending situation, New York has had to patch holes wherever it can while also leaning more heavily on Dylan Garand.
On the skaters side, the moves have opened the door for Taylor Raddysh to get another look after time in Hartford, while the team continues to juggle young depth around him. The Rangers also had to sort out additional roster spots by moving Cole Beaudoin back to Hartford and bringing up Justin Dowling, a set of transactions that reflects how quickly the depth chart is shifting as the club tries to stay afloat through an ugly stretch of injuries. [Read more 🡒]