The Top 5 New Year's Resolutions for the New York Rangers

Every year, people around the world party and get their drink on during New Years Eve. It is a huge party full of celebration, reflection and many people use the night as a last hurrah before starting off the New Year right.

Many people say they will eat better, exercise more and so on, but NHL teams like the New York Rangers have areas in which they can seek to improve upon for the new year.

The Rangers may be one of the better teams in the league, but here are the top five resolutions for the year 2015.

Rick Nash Scoring on the Power Play

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This isn't a negative, but Rick Nash could stand to improve on the power play in 2015. He is the Rangers' best player at even strength offensively, but on the power play he hasn't had as big of an impact as possible.

Nash leads the Rangers in even-strength points with 27, but has only six with at least a man advantage. That places him fourth overall on the team, two points behind Derek Stepan who has played in 12 fewer games.

If Nash can start connecting on the power play in 2015, he will win the Rocket Richard, and could be a dark horse for the Art Ross Trophy.

Killing off More Penalties

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The New York Rangers have been solid when it comes to killing penalties over the last few years. Last season the Rangers ranked third overall with a 85.3 percent efficiency rating, 15th the year before, and fifth the year before that.

Over a three-year span, they average No. 8 in the league when rounded, but this year they rank No. 13 in the league. It isn't terrible by any means, but it could be better. In order to get better on the penalty kill, the Rangers need to be better defensively and it would help if they didn't take needless and unwarranted penalties.

The Rangers have allowed the fourth-least amount of goals this season, so while it is obvious that they know how to shut down the opposition, they need to do a better job of it while they are shorthanded.

Becoming More Decisive in the Shootout

The New York Rangers have faired poorly in the shootout this season despite having Lee Stempniak who is 32.5 percent lifetime, Rick Nash who is 36.6 percent lifetime and Mats Zuccarello 45.8 percent lifetime in the shootout.

It isn't the fact that these players don't know how to score, but they sometimes are indecisive on what move or moves to use. Many times the Rangers have deked too many times instead of firing a quick shot. Derek Stepan usually hesitates and rips a wrister, but Zuccarello and Nash sometimes get too fancy.

In 2015 the Rangers will need their players to shoot with confidence instead of trying to wait out a goaltender with fancy hands.

Secondary Scoring

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Rick Nash has scored 23 goals this season. In second place is Martin St. Louis with 12, in third place is Derick Brassard with nine. There has been a huge drop-off after that, and the team needs more secondary offense.

Mats Zuccarello only has six goals in 33 games and Chris Kreider has six in the same span. For the sake of juxtaposition, J.T. Miller has one less goal than Kreider in only 12 games. Zuccarello is on pace to finish with 15 goals after pacing 21 last season, and Kreider is on pace to finish with 15 goals after pacing 21 last year.

The drop seems minimal, but it makes a huge difference in a league where one goal here or there is the difference between making or missing the playoffs.

It is obvious that there is a decline in scoring once you move out of the top portion of the lineup, and the Rangers will need guys like Zuccarello, Kreider and company to step up their games in the new year.

Faceoffs

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In the year 2000... I mean 2015, the Rangers will have to be better on faceoffs. The Rangers as a collective unit have only won 971 faceoffs, and that is the worst in the entire NHL. Their winning percentage is 46.7, and that is third worst. 

Dominic Moore is the only center on the team with a winning percentage over 50, and his 56.4 percent win rate is 11th best in the NHL. The Rangers may need to make a trade or call-up, but they need to improve upon this area if they want to be competitive the rest of the year.

Stats via NHL.com and Hockey-Reference.