Special teams has been a key differentiator for the Rangers over the last few years, in which their power play in particular has almost always given them the upper hand over most opponents.
The Rangers power play has probably seen more personnel changes this season than it has in the past three combined, but it has not had its usual dynamic this entire season and it has repeatedly failed to make up for their deficiencies at five-on-five like it has in the past.
This is the way the Blueshirts have been built. Without it, they’ve largely been mediocre.
“We practice power play almost every chance we get, even pregame skates,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after the Rangers went 0-for-3 with the man advantage against Edmonton on Sunday night at the Garden. “And so we have worked on it, every pregame skate, every practice — 90 percent of the time we hit the power play and touch on it. From the power-play standpoint, the extra-attacker standpoint, there was lot of opportunities to score goals. They didn’t find the back of the net. That’s the difference in the game.
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