Vibe check?!?
Spoiler Alert. The vibes are IMMACULATE.
Best in the league!! Now, we know that life is fluid. Ever-changing. The top spot technically doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme, but you don’t need to put qualifiers on your mood. It’s okay to take a deep breath and love what is happening here, Rangers fans.
Here’s the sneaky reason why. The rebuttal to all those rival fans trying to tear us down with their “nothing is won in November” cries. What’s happening here is REAL. Not only is it real, but I agree with K’andre’s comments after the Boston win. They can play BETTER.
So no, this blazing start doesn’t guarantee a first-round series win in this ultra-competitive system the NHL has, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this to the fullest. (We are a LOCK for the playoffs, however. Book it).
I’m not here to blow smoke without justification. Let’s list some reasons you may already know but need to see in print to realize why this success is sustainable.
- It’s over-said, but 80% of teams in playoff spots at Thanksgiving break make the playoffs. I don’t have numbers, but I guarantee teams leading the league at Thanksgiving break ALWAYS make it.
- I don’t think anyone is truly playing over their head, and if they are, it’s still sustainable. Yes, Panarin is on a hell of a pace, but he’s a consistent PPG+ player. Even if he falls off, he’ll be productive. Also, who’s to say it will be a massive drop-off if Laf has truly arrived and plays like this on that line? Speaking of him, this isn’t over his head either; he’s just producing. We’ve seen numbers like this from Kreider and Trocheck in their careers, too, and Gustafson can maintain, at the very least. And honestly, the following section shows why even if some of this production is smoke and mirrors, it doesn’t matter.
- I’ll make that point with maybe the one Rangers playing over his head. Jonathan Quick. He’s an absolute godsend, but the beauty of this is he’s our BACKUP. We don’t even need Vezina level. It’s all a luxury. Same with Gustafson. He’s been productive and a revelation, but he’s really just having those opportunities cause Fox is out. Even if he regresses a bit, he’s a 3rd pair secret weapon. So, you see what I mean-sustainable.
- I buried the lede. As our nation’s greatest Scottish nanny once proclaimed, trying to save Remington Steele from cayenne pepper. “HELP IS ON THE WAY!”. I know you know this, but we’ve been doing all this without, arguably, our best, or at least most solid player, Adam Fox. That doesn’t even include Chytil, who, at the very worst, provides center depth and makes us even more lethal. Nine games and counting they’ve missed (Fox is about to return any day now.) Their return is only going to make us more formidable. And oh, if there are other bumps and bruises (hopefully short term), we’ve given valuable time to Zac Jones as our 7th D. We’ll have Tyler Pitlick as our 13th forward. That’s serious depth. (No offense, Tanner Glass). We’re built to last.
- We talked about playing over our heads. What about more to come from the quiet ones? We still haven’t seen the best of Mika Zibanejad, that’s for sure. We haven’t seen the best of Igor either. Cuylle will only continue to grow. If Kakko finds any semblance of life, we’ll have the deepest team in the league, especially when you count our 4th line.
- Here’s the (amazing, for us, scary for everyone else) thing that excites me most. Laviolette touched on it after the Boston game. The system itself; we’re just NOW starting to get it. Yes, the defensive structure came first, and they adopted that quickly. However, it’s not just supposed to be a trap, shutdown system, and then clear it to safety. Sometimes, yes, but the idea is to shut them down and quickly unleash hell the other way. That’s what happened in the Boston game, and you saw the results. We won’t see seven goals every night, but, don’t get up to go to the bathroom during the game is all I’m saying. You might miss something.
Whew. Did I cover it all? Can you tell I’m stoked?
Now, of course, there could be lulls. If we have a bad week coming up against four very beatable teams, I will tear apart this article paragraph by paragraph myself. But I don’t know; this feels different.
And yes, playoffs will dictate the true narrative at the end. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy how the story plays out until we get there.
