The vibes are high right now for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it's certainly no secret that new head coach Dan Muse is getting the most out of his 9-4-3 team - which is tied for third in the Eastern Conference and fourth in the league.
But the same cannot be said for the Penguins' former head coach with his new team.
The New York Rangers and their new bench boss Mike Sullivan - who was at the helm for the Penguins from 2015-2025 - have struggled out of the gate this season. The Rangers sit at 7-7-2 with 16 points, which ranks sixth in the Metropolitan Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers have also scored a league-worst 35 goals, they have yet to win a game on home ice (0-6-1), and their top producer is defenseman Adam Fox, who has three goals and 11 points in 16 games. Their only forward with double-digit points is Artemi Panarin with 10, and no one else on their roster is at more than a half point-per-game.
Suffice to say, they lack scoring depth and are struggling mightily to put the puck in the back of the net, even if the advanced analytics say they should be scoring more. Both their expected goals for (38.06) and expected goals share (57.29 percent) - according to Moneypuck - are top-four marks in the league, but they simply cannot finish their chances.
Rangers' Home Struggles Reach A New Low In Loss To Islanders Déjà vu is the best word to describe the New York Rangers’ 5-0 home loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday night.
This is an issue that the Sullivan-era Penguins had for the last several years of Sullivan's tenure in Pittsburgh, and it seems to have carried over to his time with the Rangers so far. The process is there, but the finishing talent simply isn't.
So, what does this mean for the Rangers? Of course, there is still a lot of season left, and the East is a very tight race. Only eight points separate the top of the conference from the bottom of the conference, and the same goes for the Metro. Moneypuck also still has the Rangers at top-eight odds to make the playoffs at 74.7 percent.
But, if they are to turn around their season, their top players in J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad, and Alexis LaFreniere need to start producing with more frequency. And only time will tell if the Rangers' issues stem more so from coaching or from personnel or if Sullivan and his team can overcome their early-season struggles.
Penguins Earn Point In 'Prove-It' Game Against New Jersey DevilsAt this time last season - and in the two seasons before - there was always an overwhelming sense of frustration when the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> lost precious points in overtime and in the shootout.
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