Are the New York Rangers legitimate Stanley Cup contenders?

Every NHL season, there's a team whose success in the standings doesn't sync up with some of its underlying numbers, leading fans to ask if they're «actually this good.»

So, are the New York Rangers actually this good?

They're second in the Metro Division with a 29-13-4 record (.674 points percentage). They have roughly a 92% chance of making the 16-team Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2017, after a brief but effective rebuild.

They're also last in the NHL in 5-on-5 possession metrics, with a middling offense. The perception of some is that they've been carried by goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who leads the NHL with a .937 save percentage and has 21 of the team's 29 wins this season.

Is perception reality, or are the Rangers more than just the product of their MVP-caliber goaltender?

Here's what New York's players are saying, how the analytics community sees the team and what others around the league think about the Rangers this season.

NHL players love to feign ignorance about outside opinions surrounding their team.

Ryan Reaves is one who doesn't.

The Rangers enforcer has heard the doubters. He's aware of the narrative cropping up about New York as a club not truly as good as its record.

So Reaves issued a rebuttal. And there was no better time to do so than after he scored two goals in a come-from-behind win over the Toronto Maple Leafs last month in which New York erased a pair of two-goal deficits to come out on top.

«I think we know [we're a contender],» Reaves said Jan. 19. «I think maybe some of the league doesn't believe it, but let them keep [not] believing it. We're going to keep doing our thing. And, I mean, the standings don't lie.»

That victory over the Leafs pushed the Rangers into first place