Rangers HC Peter Laviolette doing the small things right

Peter Laviolette (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The New York Rangers currently sit at 26-11-2 and hold the top spot in the Metro by five points with a game in hand over the Carolina Hurricanes. While their defense has struggled at times, the Blueshirts have put a major emphasis on doing the small things right, which has given them an edge on the competition so far this season.

The Rangers’ special teams units have been the best combined in the NHL. On the power play, they have a success rate of 29.7%, the best in the league. On the penalty kill, they have an 84.4%, also a top-five mark in the league. The Rangers are only one of two teams that have both units ranked within the top five. 

A big part of this success has been the play of the netminders for New York, who have combined to allow 2.74 goals per game, the sixth-best in the NHL. They are also a top-10 team in terms of goals scored per game with 3.37. While the counting numbers are certainly impressive, it’s the intangibles the Blueshirts bring to the table that have set them apart from past Rangers teams.

After falling behind 3-0 to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, the Rangers rallied back to tie the game at three and were able to salvage a point against a Canadiens team that has had its ups and downs this season. Not folding when facing such a large deficit shows the mindset that head coach Peter Laviolette has instilled in his team.

“I thought they played hard,” said Laviolette following the shootout loss, “I thought they kept pushing the entire way.”

It’s clear this Rangers team has a different mindset and approach compared to seasons past, and it all starts with Laviolette.

“There was a lot of hockey left to be played,” defenseman Adam Fox said. “We battled back hard, would love to get two points but we worked for that one point.”

The defenseman has been key to the Rangers’ success this season despite dealing with injuries. Fox is the leader in points amongst defensemen…