BACK & BETTER
Power play looks top-notch in just first game of preseason
Watching the Rangers power play operate — even after just a short amount of practice and one measly preseason camp — is a smack in the face, revealing how much more offensive skill exists on the roster compared to a year ago.
The cross-ice saucer passes from Artemi Panarin to Kaapo Kakko are a thing to behold, as are the one-touch passes from Mika Zibanejad in the middle. Jacob Trouba orchestrates from the top with deft puck movement and a blistering low shot, while Chris Kreider sets up for screens in front, also using his big body to win loose-puck battles.
That top unit took their skills from practice to the exhibition opener, with Panarin scoring on one of four man-advantages during the team’s 4-3 loss to the Devils on Wednesday night at the Garden.
“Even if they hadn’t spent much time together — if any at all — up to three days ago, they certainly found some chemistry,” coach David Quinn said. “There is pace to the power play, and so far, so good.”
Panarin left the game after the second period with a mild groin strain that doesn’t seem too concerning, but that came after he rifled home a onetimer from the top of the left circle — assisted by Trouba and Kakko, to make the fans’ mouths water. Earlier in the game, the quintet managed to hit three posts in a matter of 10 seconds or so, also forcing Devils goalie Cory Schneider to make a sprawling save in the sequence.
And this was all done with no mention of a second powerplay unit that could have the offensive talent of Adam Fox, Filip Chytil, Pavel Buchnevich and Vitali Kravtsov. Yes, it’s early. Very early. But the man-advantage is where the Rangers’ uptick in skill has been most apparent.
“You don’t have to coach when the power play is clicking,” Quinn said. “To me, a power play, you give them some structure, and give them the mindset, some things you look to do. But at the end of the day, they’re out there and they have to read off the penalty kill.”
It’s going to be hard for penalty kills to read when Panarin has such a dangerous shot for a player with a penchant to distribute. And with his rightyshot from the left circle, and Kakko’s lefty-shot from the right circle, the threat of pucks going towards the net is omnipresent.
Which is also what is keeping Kreider on his toes in front, with such skill around him now that he can be deceived as much as the opposition.
“Some players are pretty good at hitting the other team with misdirection, and it’s just getting comfortable with the things they’re trying to sell to manipulate the penalty kill,” Kreider said. “It’s knowing they’re trying to sell ‘this’ because they’re going to take ‘that.’ There’s a steep learning curve for me. I’m sure I’ll get popped by a couple pucks that I don’t expect, and I’m sure that I’ll miss a couple screens early.
“But there’s a reason those players are as good as they are, and why their skills are so effective. It’s because they’re constantly hiding what they’re trying to do.”
When it comes to expectations for the power play as a whole, Quinn laid it out simply by saying: “A lot of goals. A lot of production. Even when your power play looks good, it gives your whole team a lift.”
This past season, when the Rangers continued their rebuilding and missed the playoffs for the second straight year, their power play ranked 17th in the league, scoring on 19.4 percent of their chances. A lot of things, between now and the season-opener Oct. 4, will determine if they’re going to improve in that area, but one thing the man-advantage has already made clear is that there has been a large improvement in the amount of offensive skill on the roster.
“Yeah, a lot of skill,” Kreider said. “A lot of potential.”