Rangers’ Defense is Offensive

Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images
Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images

In the NHL these days, offense comes from everywhere.

Teams are not afraid to shoot the puck, both forwards and defense get in on the action, there are more power plays to create scoring opportunities, and the puck is going in the net at an extremely high rate this season. Gone are the days of low-scoring affairs in the regular season.

The New York Rangers have been mediocre when it comes to scoring goals this season. As of this writing (Thursday, January 25), the Blueshirts are 17th in the league, as they have scored 151 goals in 48 games (3.15 goals per game).

Believe it or not, when it comes to putting up points this season, the team has had a lot of them from their defensemen. The team’s defensive corps has combined for 115 points.

Leading the way for the Blueshirts on the blue line is Adam Fox. Fox, 24, had 48 points on ten goals and 38 assists and has shown that he can be close to the next Brian Leetch for this franchise.

Fox also has four game-winning goals this season, logs a lot of minutes, and plays in every situation imaginable. He is the team’s most reliable blue liner, both when it comes to playing in their own end as well as playing in the offensive zone.

Behind Fox is K’Andre Miller. Miller, 23, has not only shown that he can make great defensive plays with his stick in his own end, as well as being able to catch opposing forwards on breakaway chances, but he has also shown that he can contribute offensively.

Miller has 25 points on five goals and 20 assists. His biggest goal this season came on Thursday night, January 12, when he scored with less than a second left in the game to tie the Dallas Stars 1-1 and send it into overtime, where Fox would win it with a great goal.

The team’s toughest blue-liners, Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren have also put up some points this season. Trouba has 14 points and Lindgren, who is still looking for his first goal of the season, has 13 points.

One of the most surprising offensive contributors from the team’s backend this season has been Braden Schneider. Schneider, 21, has 11 points and has shown that he has a great shot when he uses it.

Being able to get points from your defensemen is a luxury in the NHL. Luckily, the Blueshirts happen to be one of those teams that have guys that can produce on a consistent basis.

Brett’s Back, and We’re Back??? Ranting Rangers: A New York Rangers Podcast

In this weeks episode Brett's back from his long trip as we discuss is this team also back or is being a seller at the TDL and trying to get a top draft pick still on.How to support us and our sponsors:Columbia Sports ApparelESPN+ SubscriptionFanaticsDraft Kings – CODE ITRThanks for listening! Please rate and review our show on your favorite listening platform. Check out our partner's website at www.insidetherink.com for all your latest hockey news.
  1. Brett’s Back, and We’re Back???
  2. Guest Will Wright
  3. Guest Matty Jack
  4. We’re Scrooged
  5. NY Paingers


Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Patrick Hoffman

Patrick covers the NHL for Inside The Rink. He has previously covered the league for The Ultimate Hockey Fan Cave, WTP Sports, Sportsnet.ca, Kukla’s Korner, Spector’s Hockey, NHL Network Radio blog, TheHockeyNews.com, The Fourth Period, Stan Fischler’s “The Fischler Report”, as well as a slew of others.

Leave a Reply

Luostarinen shot defended by Talbot. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

3 Takeaways from the Florida Panthers & Detroit Red Wings Game 01/16/2025

If there’s one hole to the Panthers’ game right now it’s the penalty kill. Florida played a solid and tight 5v5 game against the Red Wings and absolutely shot themselves in the foot by not being able to kill penalties. A nice positive to take from this match is that the third line of Verhaeghe-Lundell-J. […]

Read More
Carolina Hurricanes

NHL Game Preview: Vegas Golden Knights at Carolina Hurricanes with Line Combinations 1/17/2025

Vegas Golden Knights (29-12-3, 61 pts) at Carolina Hurricanes (26-16-3, 55 pts) Venue: Lenovo CenterDate: Friday, January 17Time: 4:00 pm PST / 7:00 pm EST TV: NHL Network / SCRI / FDSSRadio:Vegas Golden Knights – Fox Sports Radio 98.9 FM / 1340 AMCarolina Hurricanes – The Fan 99.9 FM DraftKings Sportsbook Betting Lines:Vegas Golden Knights […]

Read More
Mark Kastelic Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins News and Notes on Friday, January 17

The Boston Bruins had good news and bad news this morning at practice at Warrior Ice Arena. Forward Mark Kastelic was back at practice in a non-contact red jersey. This is one day after defenseman Hampus Lindholm returned to practice with the same status. Kastelic has missed two games with an upper-body injury, while Lindholm […]

Read More