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Every season the injury bug bites a handful of franchises far too frequently, usually ruining any chance they may have had to be competitive. This season one of its favorite targets has been the New York Rangers. Somehow the resilient team has leveraged its well-stocked farm system and carefully chosen collection of role players not only to stay afloat, but to thrive.
Using GVT we can quantify the exact toll injuries have taken on the Broadway Blueshirts, figure out exactly how they've managed to excel and see if we can expect it to continue.
Rangers Recap
Category 2009-10 2010-11
Standings 21st 9th
Goals For 16th 14th
Goals Against 10th 5th
Power Play 13th 24th
Penalty Killing 7th 8th
Hits 2nd 1st
Blocked Shots 11th 3rd
Giveaways 28th 28th
Takeaways 10th 12th
Faceoffs 21st 28th
Hockey Prospectus 2010-11 raised more than a few eyebrows this summer when we confidently projected that the Rangers would be the NHL's most improved team. Everyone already knew that New York was a tough team, regularly among the league leaders in hits, and one of those shot-blocking, defensive teams whose consistently elite goaltending kept it in practically every game. But beyond the great Marian Gaborik, did the Rangers have enough puck-handling offensive talent to be legitimate contenders? Clearly, the answer is a resounding yes.
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Howe and Why (02/18)
4 comments have been left for this article. 
I feel like this article needed to be released a week earlier than it was. By the time this article was released, the Rangers were in the throes of their longest losing streak of the season, which is now up to six after last night's loss. All of these losses have happened to coincide with the return of their big-name players.
The Rangers will be what they've been since the lockout - a team that waits until nearly the end of the season to determine it's playoff fate. If they get in, they will likely be a 6-8 seed who might be able to pull a first-round upset, but nothing more than that. They just don't have enough offensive firepower.
Thanks for reading, and the comments.
Yes, we got burned by the timing of their slump. If it had been published the day it was written, we'd come off looking like geniuses. Looks like that "tough ride" came even sooner than we thought.
The good news is that the Rangers are well-stocked with young talent, and are definitely trending up, and at one of the league's higher rates.