Why Rangers will play ‘hybrid game’ style under coach Mike Sullivan
Mike Sullivan very much understands the makeup of the New York Rangers roster. But that doesn’t mean the new Rangers coach plans to stick with one specific style of play that caters to the plethora of high-end talent the team has.
So, sure, Artemi Panarin and Co. will have freedom to do their thing and be creative. Remember, Sullivan coached the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He gets it.
But Sullivan also helped the Penguins win two Stanley Cup championships by making sure they weren’t an easy team to play against nor a one-trick pony, so to speak.
And he brings that same mindset and game plan with him to New York.
“We’re trying to play a little bit of a hybrid game,” Sullivan explained Tuesday. “We want to play with the puck. We have talented guys. We want to make plays. Our talented guys want to make plays, and we don’t want to take the stick out of their hands. We also have to be willing to play a puck pursuit game when the play is not there to be made.”
That hasn’t always been a staple of the Rangers game. They’ve relied on high-end skill, a dominant power play, and brilliant goaltending to achieve success, including a Presidents’ Trophy two seasons ago and trips to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024.
Perhaps, though, they would’ve achieved even more success by mixing in a more committed puck pursuit element to their style. Sullivan pointed out that it’s not all about puck possession. A willingness to go get the puck with speed and conviction is important, as well.
“We want to keep the puck when we have it because we’ve got some talented guys,” he said. “We just don’t want to turn into a dump and chase, or chip and chase, team by any stretch … but we also have to be willing to put pucks behind people … ability to create offense in different ways.
“So, when we defined the No BS hockey, that’s what we are talking about. Our willingness to play both.”
That Rangers’ “No BS” slogan is emblazoned on team tee shirts that the players, coaches, and staff wear. It’s also their mantra. For sure, it alludes to no more drama off the ice, the kind that derailed their season a year ago. But it also refers to the on-ice attitude.
It’s a commitment that’s embodied by newly-minted Rangers captain J.T. Miller. No-nonsense, get to work, all-in, whatever it takes.
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Rangers seek to ‘build trust through … predictability’
Sullivan stated that “the best teams in the League” not only have plenty of skill, but are ferocious in their puck pursuit. He named the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and a perennial contender, the Carolina Hurricanes, as perfect examples of that.
He emphasized that there needs to be complete buy-in and trust by the players to make this hybrid approach work.
“Isolated pressure is easier to bear than cooperative pressure. It’s hard to beat five guys. It’s hard to beat three guys on the forecheck. It’s a whole lot easier to beat one,” Sullivan explained.
“And then it boils down to will and determination to play the game a certain way.”
The Rangers coach then got deep into the weeds in explaining how this all works.
“Good defense, a foundational aspect of that is predictability … all five guys on the ice know what their jobs are. They also know what their teammates’ jobs are,” he offered. “So, I do my job and trust that they’re going to do there’s. Predictability is an important element.
“If we’re going to establish a good, sound forecheck, we have to have some predictability. And we build trust through that predictability.”
So, that means 100 percent buy in. Not just Miller, Vincent Trocheck, Will Cuylle, and the fourth liners. Even those players, like Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, who are among the most highly skilled in the sport.
Hybrid hockey coupled with will and determination.
It could take the Rangers to new heights.
