Home Is The Key

As I watched today’s most satisfying victory over a hated divisional rival, one word kept popping up in my head. That word was home; as in home grown and home ice. Home grown refers to the players drafted and/or signed to their first professional contracts by the club while home ice obviously means winning games at the comfy confines of MSG. For the Rangers to achieve real success, and by real success I mean winning another Cup, their home grown players and the team’s performance on home ice will be keys.

If you take a look at the Rangers current roster, not including players on IR, there are 10 guys that were drafted and/or signed by the Rangers. These players include; AA, Step, Dubi, Hagelin, Cally, MDZ, Girardi, McD, Sauer and Hank. (Forgive my liberal use of nicknames; it’s just easier and we’re all Rangers fans and know who I am referring to.) Going back to the beginning of last season, five players (Step, McD, Sauer, Hagelin and Zuccarello) tallied their first career NHL goals as members of the club. This bodes well for the present and the near future.

Of course in terms of home grown I haven’t even broached some of the top prospects in the organization and are not with the club currently. LW Chris Kreider (27th) and D Tim Erixon (31st) ranked among the top 50 NHL prospects according to the Hockey’s Future website and neither is currently on the Rangers roster. In addition, RW Christian Thomas, C J.T. Miller, D Dylan McIlrath, RW Jesper Fasth and C Ryan Bourque are highly regarded according to the same source. Granted it’s unlikely all of those players will make a mark in the NHL with the Rangers but the prospect flow into MSG is far from dry.

As far as home ice goes, the Rangers have struggled immensely in recent seasons to make MSG a real home ice advantage. Their combined home record of 38-34-10 has resulted in just 86 points earned of a possible 164, or 52.4%. Meanwhile the team has taken 94 of 164 possible points (57.3%) on the road. It’s rare for a club to challenge for a Cup when they perform better on the road than they do at home.

This year the Rangers are doing a great job of turning MSG into a tougher place for the opposition to steal points away. After today’s hard-fought 2 – 0 victory over Philadelphia the Blue Shirts record at home stands at 6 – 1 – 1. That’s the best start on home ice in nearly two decades.

After years of mediocrity it looks as if the Rangers finally found the right formula for long-term success. Recent drafts have yielded many terrific young players; several of whom will comprise the foundation of the club for many years. If the Rangers can continue to win games at home and develop quality young talent, it’s quite possible our dreams and desires for another Stanley Cup championship will be realized sooner rather than later.