"When Adam Fox went down with an upper body injury, the Rangers were going to have to make adjustments to be able to drive offense without their best puck mover and overall best player on the ice. Rangers breakouts are mostly simple, with or without Adam Fox, and the adjustments made aren't necessarily at a systemic level, more at a support level. What has changed with the Rangers breakouts is about forward positioning and first pass location."
"Most teams run the same four breakouts: wheel, reverse, over, and quick up. All four rely on quick passing to break the forecheck and move the puck up the ice. Naturally, the Rangers couldn't execute these consistently without Fox on the ice. So when he went down long term, changes had to be made. In fact, changes had to be made regardless, as only Fox had the skill set needed to make quick decisions with the puck on Rangers breakouts."
"Where the Rangers breakouts changed is in both forward positioning and first pass location. Watching last night's Ottawa game, we can see F1 is routinely at the hashes and F2 is lower in the zone, creating shorter passes to break the forecheck. It's a small adjustment, bringing the forwards in more, but it helps with giving the defense more support to skate the puck up and make a better, crisper first pass."
Rangers breakouts rely on simple structures and quick passing, and the loss of Adam Fox forced practical adjustments rather than systemic overhauls. Forward positioning shifted so F1 sits at the hashes and F2 stays higher in the zone, shortening passes and easing pressure from the forecheck. Defensemen are skating the puck up more instead of trying risky passes from the goal line, reducing turnovers and creating crisper first passes. The combined tweaks provide more immediate support for a defense group that struggles to move the puck and have shown positive results so far.
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