SUNRISE, Fla. — After getting blanked by the Panthers in the series opener, the Rangers managed to even the Eastern Conference Final and then take a lead — all without scoring contributions from players who had otherwise carried the team to this point.
Whether that will be positive or negative in the long run is yet to be seen, but it’s a fact that has to be considered when evaluating how the first three games have played out.
So far, Barclay Goodrow’s three goals and the two from Alexis Lafreniere have made up 62 ½ percent of the Rangers’ goals against Florida.
The utility fourth-liner and the burgeoning 2020 first-overall pick are carrying the necessary production against a Panthers team that has outscored them 8-7.
Vincent Trocheck, who notched the opening score in Game 2, and Alex Wennberg, who won Game 3 in overtime Sunday evening, are the only other goal scorers for the Rangers in Round 3.
No. 1 center Mika Zibanejad and his left-hand man, Chris Kreider, haven’t recorded a single point in three games.
Neither star wing Artemi Panarin nor 2021 Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox have scored a single goal in three games, albeit posting an assist each.
“It’s a team sport,” head coach Peter Laviolette said in response. “It was great for Bergy to jump in there [Sunday] and make a difference in a game like that. From [Ryan Lindgren] on the back end, a guy who does so much for us, that’s a big goal and a big point. It’s a team sport. We need everybody contributing. Not everybody can be the story. You try to push that, right?
“ ‘Everybody go out and make the noise, be the ink on the paper.’ For the good of the team, not for any individual reasons. It takes a team in order to keep moving on, you need it from everybody. We’re confident in our group, and certainly confident in the players you’re talking about, as well.”
The Rangers have had to dress three different lineups amid coaching decisions and Jimmy Vesey’s injury, which will sideline him on a week-to-week basis.
Though the top-six has only had one change, when Filip Chytil replaced Jack Roslovic in Games 2 and 3.
Kreider-Zibanejad-Chytil have taken most of their five-on-five shifts against the Panthers’ top unit of Vladimir Tarasenko, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart.
Excluding Chytil, Kreider and Zibanejad have gotten caved in at times in this series despite only being on for one goal against.
The BFFs have been outattempted 57-26 and currently sit on the wrong end of a 7-1 edge in high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Barkov, the 2024 Selke Trophy winner as the best defensive forward, is doing to the Rangers’ top line what Zibanejad has proven capable of doing to most teams.
“It’s a good line,” Zibanejad said. “He’s obviously a good centerman, too, who plays down low and he’s good defensively, too. I think it’s been a tight matchup. We might not have created the looks, as many as we would’ve wanted, I think we’ve had some. New game [Tuesday], new opportunity to contribute offensively.”
The 1B unit, if you will, composed of Panarin, Trocheck and Lafreniere, is currently following the latter’s lead.
Trocheck is leading the Rangers this series with four points, but Lafreniere is not only more involved on pucks, but his finishing touch came up clutch in Game 3.
Having logged the most five-on-five ice time as a line at 33:52, Panarin, Trocheck and Lafreniere have outattempted opponents 46-27, in addition to having been on the ice for three Rangers goals and only one against.
Panarin, who was still leading the NHL with four game-winning goals entering Monday night’s Edmonton-Dallas game in the West, is going to have to make his mark on this series if the Rangers hope to get two more wins over the Panthers and reach the Stanley Cup Final.
“It’s hard to comment on that, because we still have chances,” Panarin said of not scoring through an interpreter Monday. “We just didn’t score. It’s really good that our roster is deep and the other guys can do that, as well.”
The same can be said for Fox, who has one assist in the past seven playoff games and looks as though he is playing through something.
The only thing more valuable than depth in the playoffs is a team’s top players playing like top players.
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