Rangers record with or without you so far this season
Zibanejad helped off the ice by Zuccarello and Kreider (Getty)
The New York Rangers have lost 138 man games due to injury this season. That ranks them 19th in the NHL this season, compared to Detroit which has lost the most at 340. Basically the Rangers have been really lucky in the injury department.
Still, the Rangers have had their fair share of significant injuries to players like Marc Staal, Rick Nash, and of course Mika Zibanejad.
I Can’t Live….With or Without You
Here’s a quick look at the Rangers defense this season and what the Rangers record looks with or without them in the lineup. Note that the games missed were either due to injury, illness, or lineup decision.
#NYR defense with or without in lineup (FTNYR)
The Rangers top three have missed a total of 2 games between them with Holden being the Iron Man this season. Of the 4 defensemen that missed 5 or more games this season, the Rangers oddly miss Kevin Klein more than any other.
I say oddly because on the surface it appears the Rangers would do better without him because of his struggles defensively this season. Still, 5 missed games is a pretty small sample size to make this determination…same with Dan Girardi who missed 6.
Marc Staal on the other hand has missed 9 games and the Rangers are clearly a better team with him in it. On the opposite side, the Rangers can obviously live without Adam Clendening.
Mika We Missed You
Up front the Rangers lost Rick Nash, Pavel Buchnevich and Mika Zibanejad for significant time. Only Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes missed 5 games or more up front amongst top 9 forwards (I’m not counting role players like Oscar Lindberg or Brandon Pirri).
#NYR forwards with or without in lineup (FTNYR)
I was a bit surprised that the Rangers did so well without Kreider in the lineup, but in fairness 6 games is a small sample size. The Rangers are obviously better with Buchnevich but so far him being out of the lineup had minimal impact.
Of the big forward injuries, the Rangers did very well without Rick Nash in the lineup at 8-4. On the flip side, the Rangers were a decent 15-10 without Zibanejad but they are obviously a much better team with him.
I’m not saying the Rangers can live without Nash, but it is obvious they can’t without Zibanejad. He clearly makes the Rangers a strong team down the middle and balances the lineup nicely. Plus his presence in the left circle on the PP is a key weapon the Rangers need.
So Mika gets the U2 Without or Without Award…
Let’s just hope that the Rangers are fully healthy going into and through the playoffs this season. That would be a nice change after the last few playoff years.
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