The New York Rangers have been better than we thought they would be.
I know that seems like an obvious statement now, but about a month ago no one guessed the Rangers would be anywhere near the level where they are right now. The main reasoning is a significantly upgraded offense that’s not only remarkably explosive but is also taking care of work on the back end to support the defense.
A marginal improvement from Dan Girardi and a pretty solid jump from Marc Staal have also helped. Nick Holden hurts the situation — especially because his inclusion forces out Adam Clendening -- but whatever.