What’s the deal with the Rangers’ struggling power play? 

To start the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the New York Rangers had one of the most dynamic power plays in the league, one that looked nearly unstoppable. It was overwhelming the Washington Capitals, and it proved to be one of the difference makers early on in their second round series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

However, it’s seen some struggles recently. In their last six games they’re 1 for 18 on the man advantage, and in their Eastern Conference Final series against the Florida Panthers, it’s 0 for 8. They’ve still found a way to win without it, but they’ll likely need it back at full power if they want to win the Stanley Cup.

Jon Goyens joined Frank Seravalli and Colby Cohen on Daily Faceoff Live to talk about the Rangers power play, and why it’s struggling to score at the moment.

Jon Goyens: Well the Rangers want to hold pucks so much. They’re a possession-type of power play. They do have movement, but if I compare them to a Tampa Bay Lightning who under handle pucks, the Rangers will overhandle, but with a purpose.

They’re looking for seam passes. They look for Mika Zibanejad on that seam pass, not just on your typical flank one-timer, but he’ll be down by the goal line below bottom circle. And right now, they’ve faced basically two penalty kills that are very similar. You’ll see Carolina’s defense up high, pressing high, and we see Florida’s penalty kill pressing high. What do they want to do? They want you to continuously make indirect plays and stay on the perimeter, so then it’s a one goes, everybody goes. If New York was a little bit sharper on the execution, the chances will come their way.

You can watch the full episode here, including Goyens breaking down clips…