Losing Kevin Rooney for at least the next three games is a significant blow not only to the Rangers’ already thinned out forward group, but also to their sturdy penalty kill as well.
Special teams have been a strong point for the Rangers this season, partly due to a lethal first power-play unit, headlined by Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider, in addition to an efficient penalty-killing group, anchored by Rooney and Barclay Goodrow. The Rangers are among the top 10 in the NHL in both categories.
Rooney, who was put on injured reserve after suffering an undisclosed upper-body injury against the Blues on Wednesday, has been a workhorse for the Rangers since he signed with the club as a free agent in October 2020. Penalty killing just happens to be one of his top skill-sets.
“He’s a big piece of this team,” Goodrow said of Rooney after practice on Thursday. “He’s been playing really well. It’s going to take a few guys to fill in his spot. I think chemistry is important on a PK. Once you get to know the tendencies of the partner that you’re killing with, if he prefers to be F1 or F2 or strong side or weak side or whatever it is, you can kind of build a connection.
“Even if you’re not looking at him on the play, you kind of know where he’s going to be on the ice. Him and I have found some good chemistry throughout this year.”
Entering their matchup Friday with the Devils at the Garden, the Rangers’ penalty kill ranked seventh in the NHL at 83 percent. While averaging 4:45 of shorthanded time on ice per game, they’ve given up 26 power-play goals so far, which is the fifth fewest in the league.
It is also of note that the Rangers have logged the least amount of time at 5-on-3 at just 20 seconds. The Rangers have only gone down two players twice this season and have yet to give up a goal in such a situation.
Goodrow leads the Rangers with an average of just under 2 ½ minutes of shorthanded ice time per game, followed by Rooney and Ryan Lindgren, who are tied at 2:19. Fox isn’t far behind at 2:12, while Patrik Nemeth rounds out the top five at 2:05.
In Rooney’s absence, expect Greg McKegg to assume more penalty killing responsibilities. McKegg, who played the previous 26 straight games before he was scratched Friday night, has been at the top of the Rangers’ depth chart because of his experience level and the fact that he’s another option on the PK.
Having coached McKegg during his tenure with the Panthers, Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant is familiar with the 29-year-old and has shown a preference for him over some of the team’s younger forward options such as Morgan Barron. McKegg played 46 games for the Panthers from 2015 to 2017, but Gallant was dismissed just 22 games into the 2016-17 season.
“When [Rooney] went out [Wednesday] night, I thought Kegger did a great job in killing some big penalties,” Goodrow said. “Roons is a big piece and it’s going to take a few of us to step up to replace that hole.”