3 Reasons The 2024-25 New York Rangers Are Better Than Last Year's Team – Hockey Writers – New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are off to an impressive start this season with a 5-0-1 record and are one of four teams in the NHL without a losing streak. Everything seems to be clicking and they are getting good contributions from their forwards, defensemen and scorers.

They won the President Trophy last season as the best team in the regular season and although it may be difficult to repeat that success again, this team is proving that they can do it again with the way they have been playing so far. Here are three reasons why the Rangers will be a better team than last season.

Most Advanced Depth Forward

One of the main reasons why the Rangers lost in the Eastern Conference finals last season is that when their top players stopped producing, they were not getting any production from their bottom six players. Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, and Mika Zibanejad combined for just two goals in six games against the Florida Panthers. Although they lost a few players in the offseason like Barclay Goodrow, Alex Wennberg, and Jack Roslovic, none of them contributed much to the team and now, the Rangers are back this season with great depth. It had a big impact on their good start to the season.

While the top six players have started well, the bottom six players – especially the third basemen – have played very well, have had a bad hand, and have led the Rangers to wins in some of these games. It cannot be understated how much a healthy Filip Chytil really helps improve the offensive depth. His line with Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko has arguably been the best line for the Rangers and is one of the best lines in the entire league. The fourth line has even contributed offensively and they even have Matt Rempe as a healthy guy who can jump into the lineup whenever he's needed.

Rangers Have 8 NHL Defensemen Who Can't Play

The Rangers not only have great depth up front, but they also have a great defensive back. So far this season, they have played 8 different players and will continue to carry eight defenders in the future. Leading the way is Adam Fox, who has seven points in six games and looks as good as ever. He is paired with K'Andre Miller at first and Braden Schneider has moved to the left side at second with Jacob Trouba. A preseason injury to Ryan Lindgren, who just returned from last game, led to this shakeup, but both pairings look good and will remain strong until a change is needed.

Related: 5 Takeaways From Rangers' Dominant 7-2 Win Over Montreal

When it comes to the third team defense, there have been four players throwing in that role. The season started with Zac Jones and star player Victor Mancini in the pair and they looked good, especially Mancini, who has played in every game so far this season. Veteran Chad Ruhwedel replaced Jones in the game and when Lindgren returned, he took Ruhwedel's place alongside Mancini. With more options to choose from as the season progresses, this only benefits the Rangers as they now don't have to go out and trade a depth defenseman and can focus and use their assets in other areas of need. This is the core of the Rangers defense that they have had in years.

Improved Scoring at Even Strength

One of the biggest concerns for the Rangers was that they were “power play vendors” and couldn't score enough points on the power play. To start this season, they have been very good at shooting five out of five and most of their goals have come from even strength. They have scored 31 goals this season and have a total of seven on special teams (six on the power-play and one shorthanded). This means that they have 24 goals when they play in a tie, which is tied for the first time in the league with the Buffalo Sabers.

Panarin and Kreider are both tied for the team lead with three goals apiece at even strength. The bottom six have combined for six goals in a draw, with three coming from the aforementioned third line. If the Rangers can continue to score goals like this throughout the season and make it to the playoffs, they will be a more dangerous team than last season.

The Rangers had their best season in franchise history last season and while many thought they would never do it again, they are in a position to repeat that type of performance. They are arguably a better team now than they were last season because of what we read above, and if they can continue this performance throughout the season and make it into the playoffs, there is no reason why they can't be Stanley Cup champions.