As for the Latest York Rangers, the listing is 4-2-2 for his or her last eight with yet another coming on Friday before the goodbye/All-Star break period, which runs until February 5:
1. There is a straightforward solution to the Rangers’ current power play problems, and that is to move Filip Chytil to first unit in place of Vincent Trocheck.
That Chytil is left-handed and Trocheck right-handed is greater than a footnote, nevertheless it’s not the only reason why coach Gerard Gallant, perhaps loyal to a fault, should immediately make the move ahead of Friday’s game at the Garden against Vegas.
Chytil became his team’s second most dangerous offensive weapon behind Mika Zibanejad. He is a shooter. He’s a finisher. His 17.24 shooting percentage across all powers leads the Rangers and ranks twenty eighth in the NHL amongst forwards with at the very least 500 minutes on the ice. His 1.57 goals per 60 minutes lead Rangers to twenty sixth in the league, just behind Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk.
Moreover, Chytil has quick twitch skills and quick hands that Trocheck lacks. It will have been fresh on the first play unit, which had aged like bakery bread after 24 hours.
The Rangers haven’t outperformed with a male lead for nearly the entire season. PP1, featuring Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider, mustn’t be in the middle of the NHL pack. It actually flatters the band’s current position.
![Rangers center Filip Chytil (72) celebrates scoring against the Maple Leafs on January 25, 2023.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/chytil-power-play.jpg?w=1024)
After the last stretch saw the Blueshirts go 2-for-22 in their last eight games (with the first team scoring once in their last 10 games), they woke up Thursday morning to 17.21.9 percent.
There is no rational reason to stay married to this four-pronged approach Rangers have gone with since the start of the 2019-20 season. When it worked, it worked. But it surely worked with Ryan Strom just as Panarin worked with Strom on equal strength.
2. Trocheck was unable to recreate the chemistry that seemed innate between Panarin and Strome, each on and off the ice. Expecting this from Trocheck is unfair. So perhaps the Rangers should stop trying to put the recent number 16 in place of the old number 16.
Want the option – finally – of this full-back one-shot on the opposite side to Zibanejad? Bang! So it is with Chytil, as he scored his second goal in Toronto on Wednesday after this clever Kaapo Kakko relay.
It is time for a power play fix.
![Rangers center Vincent Trocheck (16) shoots the puck against the Maple Leafs on January 25, 2023.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/trocheck-power-play.jpg?w=1024)
3. Gallant became somewhat sensitive to criticism of his constant shuffling of lines. It is clear. Every coach wants stability. This one is no different.
But Gallant is dealing with mismatched elements resulting from the failure of Panarin and Trocheck. It’s like a trainer working with a puzzle that does not have enough pieces in the corners.
Over the past three seasons, the Rangers have had two top power combos in Kreider and Zibanejad on one unit and Panarin and Strome on the other. This – and the power play – has turn out to be the club’s offensive hallmark.
Those in the peanut gallery who tried to devalue Strome’s contribution by claiming that anyone could play Panarin were clearly improper.
Moving Panarin away from Trocheck causes all sorts of ripple effects. No alternative has taken hold. If Panarin were skating with Chytil – which I’d like to see – it might replace Alexis Lafreniere, who seems downright excited to see Chytil and Kakko again.
Keeping the kids together, nonetheless, implies that the right wing that best complements Kreider and Zibanejad – Kakko – is unavailable.
(Hey, perhaps Patrick Kane could play with them as an alternative of Panarin.)
4. It’s as if Kreider sold his soul to Mr Applegate in exchange for his 52 goals last season and now it’s revenge. Last yr he was Joe Hardy. He’s old Joe Boyd now.
The percentages are plentiful for Kreider, whose inability to complete the game has spilled over into his overall game. No goals in a power play since November 13 on 17 shots and 31 attempts, with an almost not possible 9.52 field goal after last yr’s 39.39.
![Rangers winger Chris Kreider (20) saved a shot from Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov (35) on January 25, 2023.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/kreider-struggles.jpg?w=1024)
His body language is as bad as I have not seen in years. Rangers need number 20 to get out of this.
5. I won’t dwell on it because once I did, I’m undecided how Chytil ended up with an almost 3:00 shorter even-strength time than Trocheck got in Toronto (16:23 to 13:49).
6. The Rangers would not have a functional (or working) fourth line. I miss the reason for the exchange between Jonny Brodzinski and Jake Leschyshyn. How did Gustav Rydahl turn out to be just one other pro-free agent acquired by the organization from Europe who never even made it to Broadway?
Still waiting for Ville Meskanen.