Rangers Edge: New player tracking data shows team controlling play
The New York Rangers may be just 3-2-0 after five games in 2023-24, but according to NHL Edge, they are the second best team in the league for offensive zone time at 44.5%.
Additionally, they rank third overall for the least time in the defensive zone, at 37.8%. It should be noted that the Carolina Hurricanes rank first in both categories.
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So what is NHL Edge?
It’s the newest advanced stats section of NHL.com using data collected from the NHL’s Puck and Player Tracking system.
NHL.com/EDGE, developed in collaboration with League partner Sportradar, contains season-long top-10 leaderboards for skaters, goalies and Clubs in various metrics, including Skating Speed, Skating Distance, Shot Speed, Shot Location (for skaters and goalies) and Puck Zone Time (allowing fans to see where the puck is located when Players are on the ice). Starting today, fans can search, sort, filter and view graphics and data visualizations for every NHL Player and Club since the 2021-22 NHL season, which includes regular-season and Stanley Cup Playoff games.
NHL.com
It’s an exciting time for fans as technology is bringing never before seen player tacking insights to the game.
New York Rangers edge
Anyone watching the Rangers this season can see with their own eyes that they’ve been excellent at driving and controlling play, especially on the power play. Per the new data, the Blueshirts are the top team for offensive zone time at 67.5%.
A deeper dive also shows that the Rangers are above average for shooting percentage from in tight around the net at 33.3% in the slot. The problem is that they aren’t getting enough shots as they are below average regarding shots on goal.
Another thing that appears obvious is that the Rangers are a bit slower than some of the teams they’ve faced this season. According to NHL Edge, the league average is 22.79 mph and they come in at 22.29. In contrast, the Winnipeg Jets are the fastest team to date at 23.95. New York will travel to Winnipeg next week to close out this five game road trip, where they’re 1-0-0 after beating the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
Other notes as pointed out by NYR PR:
- Rangers 55.7 faceoff percentage ranks #2
- Shots against of 23.8 ranks #1
- Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies (T-13th among all NHL skaters) in hits with 15.
- Jacob Trouba’s 21 blocked shots are the most in the NHL.
- Among skaters with 90+ faceoffs, Vincent Trocheck ranks third in FO% (58.9)
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