Rangers have an entitlement problem with their power play

Thursday night, third period in Buffalo, the Rangers were up 2-1 and on their third power play of the night after the first two had failed. Fifty-eight seconds in, there was a faceoff in the offensive left-wing circle. The first unit, consisting of Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Ryan Strome and Adam Fox, stayed on, as they did for the first 1:41 of the man advantage.

Just over six minutes later, same score, the Blueshirts had their fourth power play of the match. The first unit kept the puck in the offensive zone, passing it around the perimeter, players more or less stationary. Three shots all from farther than 30 feet ensued, the Sabres cleared it after about 1:45, and the First Five finally went off the ice. That’s four power plays, amounting to 8:00 of time, and the first unit played a collective 31:13 of the 40:00 available. That amounts to 78 percent of the time. That amounts to every one else, including second unit guys Pavel Buchnevich and Kaapo Kakko and fringe second-unit guys Alexis Lafreniere and Filip Chytil, sitting on the bench watching.