The Rangers are rolling with a 12-2-1 record despite numerous injuries and a transition to a new coach and more structured system. There's very little to complain about at the moment, but there are some areas to watch. The fourth line was one, and now it looks like the top line is another. The Rangers top line scoring issues have been masked by a strong powerplay.
Luckily for the Rangers, their second line duo of Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere, along with either Vincent Trocheck or Filip Chytil, have been carrying the load at 5v5. With a strong powerplay, solid team defense focused on limiting quality against, and this line carrying the load, the Rangers top line scoring issues haven't proven to be a problem. Yet.
As of yesterday, the Kreider-Zibanejad-Kakko trio was a top-10 line in terms of controlling play, both quality and quantity. But it just wasn't translating to goals over the first 10 or so games before they got broken up. Their 2.21 xGF/60 from MoneyPuck is easily the worst from th.
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