The New York Rangers' Power Play Is The Reason The Team Is Winning
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 06: The New York Rangers celebrate the game winning power play goal by Pavel Buchnevich #89 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden on November 6, 2017 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Blue Jackets 5-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Of all the reasons why the New York Rangers have been scoring goals, the power play would be last on the list. Well, not any longer.

The surging New York Rangers’ power play has been the talk of Rangerstown over the last two weeks. Currently, the Rangers are in sixth place in the National Hockey League with the man advantage. Their 24.2 percentage is one of the reasons why the Rangers are in the midst of a four-game winning streak.

Mika Zibanejad leads the team in power play points with five goals and five assists. Kevin Shattenkirk is next with two goals and six assists, followed by Pavel Buchnevich, (three goals, four assists) and Chris Kreider (three goals, one assist).

One of those many power play highlights came from Pavel Buchnevich, who scored an impressive power play goal against the Blue Jackets on a great pass from Zibanejad on Monday night.

As a team, the Rangers have scored 15 power play goals on the season. In the 16 games played, they have played nine games in which they have at least one power play goal, four games where they have scored two power play goals and one game where they have scored three power play goals. Out of the nine games when they have scored a power play goal, the Rangers have won four. Let’s remember the slump they started the season off with, so the few games won with a power play goal is not reflective of how well they are playing currently.

For many seasons in the past, the power play has been more detrimental to the team’s play then positive, but this year that has changed. The power play has created great momentum shifts in favor of the Rangers and has also brought strong scoring opportunities for the team.

When asked about the power play after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday night, Kevin Shattenkirk replied, “We’re simplifying it. We’re not doing anything crazy but when we’ve got those weapons we know we’ve got to use them.” The weapons were in full force on Monday as the Rangers scored three power play goals in their 5-3 comeback win.

The win over the Blue Jackets was the team’s fourth in a row, and fifth out of their last six games played. In these five wins, the Rangers have notched seven power play goals.

Following Monday night’s win, the power play was the hot topic being discussed. Head coach Alain Vigneault said of the performance, “our power play came up and made some big plays.”

With the Rangers becoming more dangerous on the power play, teams will have to play less aggressive against them. That is what the power play does when it’s connecting; it doesn’t only score goals, but it also prevents the opposing teams from being over-aggressive in fear of drawing a penalty.

The New York Rangers have a new weapon, one they have been searching for many seasons, but never could get to work when they needed it most. Watch out everyone, the Rangers can now attack in different ways now, all leading to the same final result: More wins for the team as they climb up in the standings.

A graduate of St. John's University class of '91. I have been a fan of the New York Rangers since the days of Peter Puck. Founder of Ranger Proud, the Facebook page that covers all news, notes, pre /post-game stats, and player quotes. I can be reached at [email protected]