New York Rangers PK should be strong despite personnel changes

new york rangers pk
May 22, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Vincent Trocheck (16) and New York Rangers center Andrew Copp (18) battle after a face-off during the third period in game three of the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Rangers PK was the 7th best in the NHL during the 2021-22 season. Despite a change in key personnel to the penalty kill units, they stand to be just as good, if not better this year.

Gone from last season are the following penalty killers:

  • Kevin Rooney (F)
  • Tyler Motte (F)
  • Andrew Copp (F)
  • Greg McKegg (F)
  • Patrik Nemeth (D)

“Exhibition games we’ll probably see a couple of different guys doing it,” Head coach Gerard Gallant said in camp. “Trocheck, Carpenter, Kreider, and Zibanejad kill penalties. So there’s lots of guys and we’re not worried about our penalty killing one bit.”

New York Rangers PK

new york rangers
Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

So just how good was the New York Rangers PK last season? Here’s the key stats you need to know:

  • PK Efficiency- 82.3%
  • Shorthanded Goals For – 8
  • Shorthanded Goals Against – 2

For a more in-depth look at who the Rangers relied on to kill penalties, I compiled a list using data from NHL.com and then sorted it by shorthanded time on ice per games played (SH TOI/GP).

Note: Players in Bold and Italics are no longer on the team

PlayerPOSSH TOISH TOI/GPSHGSHASHP
Barclay GoodrowF183:182:19134
Ryan LindgrenD174:162:14000
Adam FoxD166:562:08112
Kevin RooneyF129:232:07000
Jacob TroubaD168:312:05022
Mika ZibanejadF148:461:50145
Andrew CoppF26:071:38101
Patrik NemethD98:471:34000
K’Andre MillerD121:251:29000
Chris KreiderF120:471:29303
Tyler MotteF12:271:23000
Greg McKeggF51:271:12011
Jonny BrodzinskiF19:070:52000
Ryan StromeF39:450:32101
Braden SchneiderD21:490:30000
Kaapo KakkoF19:190:27000
NYR PK (stats via NHL.com)

The Rangers top three penalty killers remain on the team but with Kevin Rooney gone via free agency, a center needs to step up to fill that role.

That’s where Vincent Trocheck steps in. Of course, when seeking Andrew Copp and Tyler Motte’s replacements, you simply need look no further than Ryan Carpenter and Jimmy Vesey.

Below you will see just what those three did last year on the PK sorted by SH TOI/GP:

PlayerPOSSH TOISH TOI/GPSHGSHASHP
Jimmy Vesey (PTO)F137:152:01200
Ryan CarpeneterF128.291:55000
Vincent TrocheckF143:081:46000
PK Stats

While training camp battles continue, based on the information above, it’s hard not to see both Ryan Carpenter and Jimmy Vesey NOT making the team.

The Rangers may also experiment giving players like Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko some time on the PK. However, the core group seems evident so it’s just about getting them familiar with the possibility.

As for Nemeth’s replacement on defense, you can expect to see more K’Andre Miller and Braden Schneider going forward.

At the end of the day, the Rangers still have their biggest offensive threats on the PK in Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. A Trocheck pairing with Goodrow has the potential to also be lethal.

Bottom line, the Rangers have the personnel here to be better than they were last season and that should have fans giddy.

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Anthony Scultore is the founder of Forever Blueshirts and has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL... More about Anthony Scultore

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