There is no denial or second thoughts regarding the talent possessed by the New York Rangers. They may be considered as one of the most offensively sound teams in the NHL, but they still have some serious issues to resolve if they plan to reach the season’s big dance. With just a couple of weeks and a few games remaining, the NY Rangers sit on the eight spot in the Eastern Conference standings. With a crucial 1-0 win against the Islanders, the Rangers are finally getting in the groove. Those who wager on NHL can think of this win as a momentum-boosting event for the team. Considering the fact that the Blueshirts were to increase the level of its offensive game in order to match their defense in this year’s season, the tournament has really been a big disappointment.

This year, the NY Rangers are fighting with six other teams to claim the three available berths in the playoffs. As of the moment, their NHL odds of making the playoffs is good, though they can still be considered to be in the danger zone. Of all the teams competing this year, the Rangers stand out to be the most talented ones. A good number of www.wageronsports.com enthusiasts would agree to the fact that talent alone isn’t enough reason to place a bet online on teams. The Tampa Bay Lighting is known to be the most offensive teams in the league, which sits not-so-proudly at the second last spot this year. Coach John Tortorella and the blue squad need to work on some important things, in order to secure a spot and be successful in the playoffs. Fortunately, the root causes of the slow run are identifiable. This gives hope to the team and its fans, as well as those who wager on hockey for this team, that the Rangers can still turn things around and make an impact in the postseason. It may take some time to address the issues, but it is not something that the Rangers are not capable of doing.

1. Covering the Passing Lanes

Henrik Lundqvist has always been, is, and will continue to be one of the golden keys to any success that the Rangers target. It does not really matter if the men in blue are scoring or not, until Lundqvist is at his best. The man before the nets has been amazing all through this season. The problem comes when the players executing their defensive responsibilities clog up the goal area. If they could go ahead and stop the puck from floating on the ice, Lundqvist wouldn’t be bombed with too many goal attempts. The clogging up of the goal area also leaves the point unprotected. Moreover, such kind of defense can act in a self-defeating manner in situations when the Rangers are not able to take the puck away from the opponents. With such a kind of protection, it is no wonder why Lundqvist has not been able to give his best. Therefore, defense tactics are one thing that Tortorella needs to work on in order to see his boys on the playoffs bench. Defense, as most sports expert say, wins championships. If the NY Rangers want to be in the headlines of hockey news and be hailed as Stanley Cup winners, they need to tighten their defense.

2. Adjusting the Line Combos

The attacking lines being used by the Rangers are surely not working at the point. There is no denial to the fact that the coach dreams of doing something big by making Rick Nash, Brad Richards and Marion Gaborik on the same line. However, one thing that he needs to focus on is what the other nine are not able to do, rather than focusing on the three superstars to do some magic while playing forward. In order to be successful in the playoffs, which might seem to be a distant dream as of now, Tortorella must focus on putting his star players in some succeeding positions. It would mean breaking the superstar combo and scattering them around, in addition to mending the bottom line.

3. Plenty of Penalties

Last but not the least point to be included on things-to-do list is working on the miserable penalty situations. The blue squad has been lingering around the middle as far as penalty killing is concerned. Due to the present dismal situation, the club is ranked seventh in the list of worst punished in the league, with an outstanding count of 43 penalties in the first six games. This isn’t something to be proud of and can surely not open the doorway to succes in the playoffs. In order to reach this year’s big dance, the Rangers need to work out on ways to stay out of the sin bin and avoid as many penalties as possible.

As long as the Rangers play with more focus on defense, chemistry of the attack team and staying away from the penalty box, the blue squad has no issues that may block their way to the playoffs. This is good news to people who are planning their sports betting strategies for the posteason. This will be a big relief for the hard-core NY Rangers’ fans.

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