Key Areas for New York Rangers to Focus on During West Coast Swing

The New York Rangers' next three games are going to be three of their most important games of the year. The Blueshirts will play against the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings, and these games will be tougher than recent contests with the Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres.

These late-night affairs will have an impact on the Rangers' ability to maintain their position in the Metropolitan Division, and they have some key areas to focus on over the next three contests. The Blueshirts are going to try and capture six points, and here is what they should concentrate on to accomplish this goal.

Executing on the Power Play

The Rangers have the NHL's 10th-best power play heading into Wednesday night's contest versus Anaheim, and their success in this area could prove to be the difference during the West Coast swing.

Anaheim's penalty kill is the 10th-worst in the NHL; Los Angeles' is the 13th-worst, and San Jose ranks 14th overall. The Blueshirts' power play has really been productive as of late, and some key goals on the power play can only help the team's chances of collecting six points.

Last season the Rangers inability to score on the power play in the playoffs cost them against the Kings, so that is something that will have to be fresh in their minds over the next few games.

The Rangers have the offensive talent needed to be successful, and execution will be crucial during the next three games because the upcoming opponents are a lot tougher than the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils, teams the Blueshirts recently bested with ease.

Staying Vigilant If They Outshoot the Opposition

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The New York Rangers average 30.1 shots per game and generally outshoot the opposition. However, at times this year, the opposition has outshot them and was successful as well.

Generally, teams that possess the puck and take more shots win more games.

During the upcoming road trip, the Rangers will need to make sure they don't sit back and take Anaheim and San Jose for granted in the event they pummel them with shots. This season, Anaheim leads the league in winning percentage when being outshot by an opponent, and San Jose is fifth-best.

It should be mentioned that the Rangers own the fourth-best winning percentage in this area, so they should be aware of how dangerous a team can be when it is outshot.

Keeping Tabs on Ryan Getzlaf

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The New York Rangers need to focus on Ryan Getzlaf when they face off against the Anaheim Ducks, because he is one of the NHL's top players.

Getzlaf is fifth in scoring with 44 points and is winning just more than half of his faceoffs. He is a dynamic player who sets the pace and can single-handedly defeat the Rangers if the team isn't careful.

Corey Perry is another player to keep an eye on, but Getzlaf arguably poses more of a threat to the Rangers.

Peppering Top Goaltenders with Shot After Shot to Generate Rebounds

Frederik Andersen of the Ducks has been one of the NHL's top netminders this season with a record of 22-6-5 with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage thus far into the season. 

Jonathan Quick of the Kings has been solid as well; he is 16-9-7 with a .917 save percentage and 2.35 goals-against average. He gave the Rangers fits during the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, and things certainly will be a little heated as the team returns to Los Angeles for the second time since losing in the Cup Final.

Both Andersen and Quick are athletic netminders who like to play aggressively from time to time, so it will be important for the Rangers to take shots from every angle early and often. If they do this, there's a good chance rebounds will be lying in wait and a New York forward will be in position to deposit an easy goal.

It may seem basic, but these goaltenders aren't beat cleanly very often, so making the most of presented opportunities is very important.

Staying Focused

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The San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings have been up and down this season; they currently sit third and fourth, respectively, in the Pacific Division. The Rangers have had a lighter schedule to date, but the travel and later puck drops are out of the ordinary.

As the Rangers prepare to play these games—the first two are back-to-back—it is important for the team to stay focused on playing one shift at a time. Last season they were decimated by the Anaheim Ducks; the team was clearly not thinking straight, and that led to bad goals because of simple mistakes.

The Rangers have shown some amazing consistency over the last few weeks, and not getting caught up in the importance of these matchups will be key for the team to succeed.

Playing Mistake-Free Defensive Hockey

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The Los Angeles Kings have a deep team with players on each line who can score goals. The top line is loaded with Marian Gaborik and Anze Kopitar. "That 70s Line" is a threat on the second. Dustin Brown can contribute on the third line, and Mike Richards is a two-way threat on the fourth line.

The San Jose Sharks have a distribution of scoring with Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau and Tomas Hertl as well, although the absence of Joe Thornton hurts the strength of the lineup.

I already mentioned the Ducks' combo of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, but they also have players such as Ryan Kesler, Andrew Cogliano and Devante Smith-Pelly who can burn the Rangers.

Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Kevin Klein, Dan Boyle and company will all have to step up and play defensively sound hockey, because the littlest of mistakes can be magnified against these deep offensive threats.

There may be situations where a top forward is taking shifts against the Rangers' bottom pairing because of last change and depth, and that is why the team will need a complete effort. These games can get ugly rather quickly, as the Kings just showed the Nashville Predators that not even a three-goal lead late in the third period is safe.

Stats via NHL.com