What Rangers' stats say about their potential in playoffs - ESPN

When the New York Rangers clinched a playoff berth on March 26, there wasn't a celebration. There was barely an acknowledgment of the feat in their dressing room after an overtime win against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.

The accomplishment was procedural, a bridge to greater things.

«If you want to lift the Stanley Cup, you've got to get into the playoffs first,» New York center Mika Zibanejad said. «We have bigger goals. That's Step 1 for us.»

Step 2 is likely winning the Metro Division, the first time the Rangers will have topped their group since 2014-15. Step 3 could be winning the Presidents' Trophy for the NHL's best record this season. Then the real journey begins, step after step, until the Rangers lift the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1994 and the second time since 1940.

Unless they stumble and fall out of the postseason, of course.

The Rangers are a confounding team, and not just because they exited the postseason after one round in 2023. On the surface, they've been dominant in the standings and solid on both sides of the puck: Through 78 games, they were sixth in goals and seventh in goals against per game. But look under the hood and one finds a team whose 5-on-5 analytics are utterly pedestrian and in some cases below average.

«The New York Rangers are a bit of an anomaly,» said Meghan Chayka, co-founder of Stathletes.

«Elite special teams and goaltending have boosted average processes and results at 5-on-5,» said Mike Kelly, director of analytics and insights at Sportlogiq.

We explored this imbalance earlier this season. The Rangers have only become more successful since then. With the postseason approaching, it seemed like an ideal time to check again to get a sense of how close the