The New York Rangers had a lot of success last season due to the play of one particular line.
No, it was not a line with Mika Zibanejad (72 points) and Chris Kreider (75 points). While both of those players had solid seasons, they did not have anywhere near the success of a line that essentially did it all for the Blueshirts.
I am of course talking about the line consisting of Alexis Lafreniere, Vincent Trocheck, and Artemi Panarin. Last season, this line combined for 254 points on 102 goals and 152 assists.
As of this writing (Tuesday afternoon, October 29), this line has once again been the team’s best. This line currently has 30 points on 12 goals and 18 assists.
Leading the way for this line, like last season, is Panarin. He currently (as of Tuesday afternoon, October 29) leads the team with 15 points on six goals and nine assists.
Panarin knows how to produce year in and year out. He is a point-per-game player who knows how to set himself up for scoring chances, create chances for his linemates, and is terrific at controlling the puck in the offensive zone.
Lafreniere, who the club recently signed to a seven-year contract extension, is currently (as of Tuesday afternoon, October 29) second on the club in scoring with eight points on four goals and four assists. After breaking out last season with 57 points (28 goals and 29 assists), Lafreniere came into this season confident that he could be productive again.
It appears that Lafreniere’s confidence in himself is paying off as he is once again having a productive season. He is going hard to the net, is finding the right areas on the ice to give himself a chance to score goals, and is also playing responsibly at the other end of the ice.
While Panarin and Lafreniere are leading the line offensively, Trocheck is the engine that makes the line go. He is currently fourth on the team in scoring, with seven points on two goals and five assists.
Trocheck is someone who forechecks, backchecks, chases after pucks, goes hard to the net, wins a lot of faceoffs, plays on special teams, and is one of the leaders on the team. He does all the little things that help make both his line and the team successful.
There are several reasons why this line is successful. For starters, they create a lot of offense.
Each player on this line is producing, and they are doing so because of the way they all go to the net, create room for themselves and each other in the offensive zone, and handle the puck. When you put all of these things together, you have a line that is very tough to defend.
Secondly, they all have high hockey IQ’s. The trio seems to know where each other are going to be on the ice at all times, which makes it easy for them to play together.
This is especially the case when it comes to Panarin and Lafreniere. With their high-end offensive talent and great vision, setting up plays with each other is a seamless process and one that usually ends up either as a quality scoring chance or with the puck in the net.
Lastly, they all bring different styles of play to the table. Trocheck can win faceoffs, go after pucks in the corners, and make smart plays in the defensive zone, while Panarin and Lafreniere can create magic with the puck.
If the Rangers are going to win the Stanley Cup this year, they are going to do so with this line leading the way.
