Discussions about the Rangers' power play unit began long before Alexis Lafreniere came onto the scene.
But several times each season, one of the scariest aspects of the Blueshirts' game hits a breaking point, or statistics are generated that raise questions about whether there should be more balance between player groups and the distribution of ice time. There may be times when
The Rangers defeated the Sharks 3-2 on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, scoring five power-play goals on their last 23 chances in their past eight games.
Three of them were produced in PP1, while one is from PP2, the latest one with Lafreniere joining the first group instead of Mika Zibanejad.
The Rangers failed to score a power play goal against San Jose.
Before Thursday's win, the Rangers ranked sixth in the NHL with a power play percentage of 26.2.
The second unit barely touches the ice, making it even more likely that Lafreniere will likely join Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, Chris Kreider and Adam Fox.
Still, for a player like Zach Jones, who ranks PP2 at quarterback alongside Lafreniere, Riley Smith, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko, the 24-year-old has been the most productive man in the past four games. This means that you have gained advantage time. From 2022 to 2023.
“It's been good. I think he's doing a good job there,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of Jones Thursday morning. “He skates well, moves the puck well. He sees the ice well. There's a lot of things he does well. He doesn't have a lot of time, so he has time to be on the ice. I think the more you get, the more comfortable you are with it. So far, there's been no change in that.”
Jones, who is suiting up for his fifth consecutive game on Thursday, is averaging more landings than he has since his NHL debut in April 2021.
On the power play, Jones had one shot on goal, two shot attempts and two takeaways.
Victor Mancini was assigned to AHL Hartford on Wednesday, followed by Chad Ruhwedel being recalled from the Wolfpack.
Ruwedel joined the Rangers Thursday for the morning skate.
“I thought he came in, had a good training camp, played for us, and nothing changed,” Laviolette said of Mancini. “Him and Zach have been in and out of the lineup, just evaluating the game. It's not that one was bad and the other was good. I thought Zach came in and played really well. And that's why he stayed. So we got to the point where Zach was in the lineup for a few games.
“As an organization, we don't see any benefit for young players, first-year players, second-year players to just sit here and not play. Practice at the NHL level and go out there every day. I think there's value in practicing with NHL players, the speed, the pace and the way they practice.
“So, a little bit is fine. But I think it's also very beneficial to develop the in-game situation. It's a chance for him to go to Hartford and really work on some minutes and continue to develop.” He's done a really good job, so we're really happy with him.”
