Through 24 games, the New York Rangers are above water and look to have the foundation of an average team. Down the middle the team has three solid centers, it has a passable rotation of defensemen and Henrik Lundqvist in net. This composition makes for a team that stays competitive but not as good as it looked the past three weeks.
Part of the issue for the Rangers is the fact that both Mats Zuccarello and Pavel Buchnevich have missed several games due to injury. More notably, the Norwegian forward is sitting out for Monday’s contest against the Ottawa Senators with a groin injury.