32 Teams In 32 Days: New York Rangers

The curse of elite goaltending

• In today’s 32 team spin around the league we take a look at the New York Rangers and the curse of elite goaltending. Yes, sometimes it can be a curse.

• Be sure to check out yesterday’s team: The Florida Panthers, and whether or not they missed their best chance with this current core.

Goaltending changes everything in the NHL.

There is no one position that can single-handedly change a team’s outlook and success quite like a goalie can. In both directions.

Bad goaltending can make good teams think they have problems that do not exist. The elites can trick teams into thinking they are better than they actually are by masking flaws that do not get adequately addressed because the goalie can keep stealing wins and elevating the team to heights it probably has no business in reaching.

Both situations can be problematic for a team that can’t see past the goaltending driven results.

That brings us to today’s team in our look across the league: The New York Rangers.