NY Rangers: 3 Improvements John Tortorella Needs to Make for 2012-13

The Rangers were a very disciplined team in 2011-12.

They were excellent on the penalty kill, they won 81.4 percent of the time they scored first (third best in the league) and despite all that has been made about their shot-blocking, they averaged only 27.8 shots against per game, the sixth-lowest regular season average in the NHL.

But, the team fell short of their goal, so improvements can be made.

Adding Rick Nash should lead to more scoring chances and more goals, but we need a regular season to put that theory into practice. While the competition is inferior, Nash has already shown he can score in Switzerland.

Besides scoring more often, which is a goal of every team at every level of sports, here are three improvements the Rangers need to make:

Power Play Efficiency

While the Rangers were very good at killing off penalties, they were very bad at taking advantage of their own power plays.

The NHL average last season was 17.31 percent efficiency on power plays. The Rangers converted just 15.71 percent of their man-advantage chances.

Wins and losses often come down to missed opportunities, and the Rangers can't be nearly two percentage points below the league average to succeed in 2012-13.

Nash will certainly help on the power play, and the lockout is giving Marian Gaborik time to get healthier, but the key to the Rangers ineffective power play has been the point position, occupied by Michael Del Zotto.

Which leads me to...

More Defensive Depth

Michael Del Zotto is currently a restricted free agent.

Del Zotto didn't sign a new deal before the lockout went into effect and won't be able to negotiate his contract until the league and the players have a new CBA in place.

In the playoffs last season, the Rangers relied too heavily on three defensemen.

While Del Zotto rounded out the top two defensive pairs, he averaged nearly five minutes less time on the ice than Ryan McDonagh, Daniel Girardi and Marc Staal.

The Rangers didn't add any defenders in free agency and will hope that Michael Sauer will be healthy to add depth to the defensive pairings. But resigning Del Zotto will be very important because that will, at least, ensure the Rangers don't lose any bodies on the back line.

Anton Stralman will look to build on a good season, and Stu Bickel and Steve Eminger will fight to find a role with the club.

More Consecutive Wins

It's a bit of a stretch to say the Rangers didn't win enough games, because they had the second-best regular season record in the NHL.

They were in position to win the Presidents' Trophy at the end of the season, but lost three out of their final four games.

The Rangers did win three playoff games in a row, and two of those were elimination games, but they failed to gain any momentum from overtime wins, losing the following game in each instance.

The Rangers held a 2-1 series lead over the Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals, but then lost the next three games to conclude their season.

Momentum swings easily in hockey, and the Rangers need to keep it on their side to win a Stanley Cup in 2013.