The Rangers’ power play is starting to hit a stride at the right time, but it can’t stand alone.
Having scored with the man-advantage in each of their last five games, including Thursday night’s 4-1 loss to the Flyers at the Garden, the Blueshirts have now capitalized on seven of their last 16 power-play opportunities.
As strong as the top unit has been, the same players the Rangers rely on for offense haven’t delivered at five-on-five lately or on a consistent basis this season.
The Blueshirts’ last five-on-five goal was in the third period of the 5-2 win over the Canadiens this past Sunday.
“I thought one line was able to generate, they were able to stay in the offensive zone and create, but as a team, as a whole, we didn’t generate enough,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “We didn’t get to the hard areas. They were quick to defend. We weren’t quicker. They were a little heavier in the battle, we weren’t heavy enough. Offense was not where we wanted it to be.”
Artemi Panarin scored the Rangers’ lone goal of the night on the power play at the 18:19 mark of the first period, which evened the score at one-all heading into the first intermission.
Chris Kreider, who has a team-leading 18 power-play goals on the season, had a four-game streak with a man-advantage tally snapped.
“The two [against the Red Wings and Devils] were really big because they win hockey games for us,” Laviolette said after the Canadiens game, in which Kreider’s third-period score on the power play was the first of a four-goal surge for the Rangers.
“But I mean, again, the power play, I think there’s a lot of movement. And then there’s Kreids at the net, who has got to be one of the best in that area down in front of the net. I think both of those came from there. That’s where he lives and that’s where he’s planted.
“The movement around the power play is really good and then when it comes time to deliver something to the net, he’s there. He knows what to do.”
Matt Rempe was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row and the sixth time in the last eight games, along with defensemen Zac Jones and Chad Ruhwedel.
While Jones has sat out of four of the last five, Ruhwedel hasn’t played since a five-game stretch from March 19-28.
Adam Fox was named the winner of the team’s Rod Gilbert “Mr. Ranger” award, given to the player “who best honors Rod’s legacy by exemplifying leadership qualities both on and off the ice, and making a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.”
Despite several injury scares in the game against the Islanders this week, Laviolette still doesn’t have any plans to rest any of his regular skaters through the last two games of the regular season.
“Not at this point, no,” he said. “Right now, we’re dialed in. Trying to collect the two points.”
Filip Chytil had a red non-contact jersey hanging with the rest of his practice gear in his locker at MSG Training Center on Thursday, a development since the Czech center suffered a setback and was ruled out for the remainder of the season in late January.
While there haven’t been many updates, Chytil is not expected to return in the playoffs after missing a majority of this season with a suspected concussion.
The Rangers are scheduled to practice on Friday before they have their final regular-season meeting with the Islanders on Saturday afternoon.
