Some can argue that the Rangers’ top-heavy lineup is a flaw, but when the star players who occupy those spots are consistently operating at the elite level they’re capable of, the results speak for themselves.
And that they have for the Blueshirts, loudly and fervently, in the form of a franchise record-setting regular season that has poured into a 5-0 tear through their first games of the playoffs.
The bigger the spotlight, the brighter the stars — and, boy, have the Rangers’ top players shined since the stakes have risen.
“You look at Bread [Artemi Panarin], Mika [Zibanejad], [Vincent Trocheck], [Chris Kreider] and all these guys, they’re out early before practice,” trade-deadline acquisition Jack Roslovic told The Post on Monday at MSG Training Center. “They’re going the extra mile. It sounds cliché, but you don’t see that in every superstar. It’s great to see. It’s easy to follow. It’s easy to be around.”
This postseason stretch, of course, is in stark contrast to where the Rangers were just a year ago. Exactly 365 days prior to the creation of this column, Gerard Gallant was ousted as head coach following a team implosion of epic proportions in a seven-game first-round defeat at the hands of the Devils.
The loss fell directly on the shoulders of the team’s star players, who largely faded to the background after going up two games to none.
It was catastrophic. It was, quite frankly, embarrassing for a core that has commanded such high expectations in recent years.
You could see just how much it fueled those players by the way they attacked this season.
It was evident in how receptive they were to then-incoming head coach Peter Laviolette and the hard-working habits he imposed upon them. The way they immersed themselves in the prospect of being the best, answering every challenge of their authority in the standings with a definitive victory.
“We’ve talked about [last year] enough in here as a team, just how bad it felt, how it’s done,” captain Jacob Trouba said before the playoffs began. “Just kind of sick to your stomach, how it made you feel. [Panarin] was the same way. I think we all kind of felt that same feeling. Put ourselves in a good spot to get back this year.”
And here is Panarin after a career season, a year after going goal-less in Round 1, leading the NHL with three game-winning playoff goals. The dynamic Russian wing has carried over his clutch play, added some bruising checks and is shooting more than maybe he ever has since arriving on Broadway.
Take his goal that made it 4-2 in the third period of Game 1 against the Hurricanes on Sunday, when Panarin opted to shoot it himself instead of dishing to Trocheck on the two-on-one rush.
Zibanejad is averaging two points per game in the playoffs and is tied with the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl for the second most points in the postseason with 10. Trocheck continues to impact every aspect of the Rangers game, pester opponents and own the faceoff circle with a league-leading 67.7 win percentage among players who have taken at least 30 draws.
From Kreider’s ability to threaten offensively whenever shorthanded to Igor Shesterkin repeatedly coming up with that extra necessary save. Adam Fox has served as a linchpin on the power play and on the back end, while K’Andre Miller has embodied a sort of defensive aggressiveness that has only elevated as the competition has.
The Rangers are getting what they need from the players they need it from most.
There is something to be said about the top six’s penchant for the prettier play and some too-cute passes, which revealed itself a bit at certain points in Game 1 against the Canes. Like when Zibanejad opted for a drop pass to no one when there was nothing between him and goalie Frederik Andersen, but it wasn’t enough to derail their pursuit of victory.
It feels as if it’s going to take a lot to get in the Rangers’ way if their marquee guys continue to show up in force.
This is more than just a redemption tour for the Rangers and their headlining players.
This is the year they think could be theirs, and they’re competing like it.
