Rangers working to fix newfound odd-man regression

The recurring hindrance in each of the Rangers last five or so games has been the abundance of odd-man rushes against, an area the team excelled in limiting earlier in the season.

Half of it is surely the way the Blueshirts defensive structure has progressively loosened up, but it also could be, as The Posts Up in the Blue Seats co-host and former Ranger Brian Boyle pointed out on this weeks episode, how theyve struggled against teams that dont necessarily play with as much structure as they do.

The Rangers have given up a whopping 14 goals on a staggering 104 shots in the last three games, and yet they still went 2-1.

The odd-man rushes was something that we talked about and can still do a better job, captain Jacob Trouba said after the 6-2 thrashing the Rangers endured against the Senators on Tuesday night in Ottawa. I think that was something that we did really well out of the gate, limiting those. I think its kind of crept back into our game a little bit.

I think the last two games probably gave up more chances and goals than we want. I think just kind of look at it, address it and understand why its happening and make the proper adjustments.

Mathieu Joseph of the Senators shoots the puck against Jacob Trouba of the Rangers. NHLI via Getty ImagesAccording to Stathletes, co-founded by Meghan Chayka, the Rangers were ranked 28th in the NHL in odd-man rushes against at 4.75 entering Wednesday nights slate of games. The NHL average stands at 4.3.

And the numbers show that the Rangers have drastically regressed in this area from the start of the season.

In October, they averaged 4.22 odd-man rushes against. In November, it jumped to 4.75. Through three games in December, however, it has ballooned to an egregious 6.33, per Stathletes.

The emphasis for the Rangers at the start of the season, spearheaded by head coach Peter Laviolette, was how strong defense can turn into sustainable offense within their new system.

The Rangers have gotten away fom that lately, appearing to have lost some of those details in their own end and the neutral zone, which have allowed their opponents to be opportunistic.

It was the Rangers who were generating those relentless odd-man rushes in October and most of November, but lately theyve been on the receiving end.

Fabian Zetterlund of the San Jose Sharks scores a third period goal against Jonathan Quick. Getty ImagesEarlier in the season, the Rangers were tough to get through in the neutral zone, often causing turnovers and turning it into their own rush opportunities.

This is not a bad habit just yet, especially since they started the season off so well in that department.

The Rangers just need to get back to a sound defensive structure and cut out some of the riskier plays they turn to when the offense isnt generating the way they want it to.

Theres things that we did that didnt give us the best chance at being successful, Laviolette said. I think that theyre easy things to fix. The second period was a track meet. I mean, it went up and down the ice at 100 mph. But one way going 100 is fine, but the other way we have to have better reads and better decisions coming out of offensive-zone play and out of their zone.