NY Ascending Super 16 Rankings for One Key Reason

The New York Rangers have gotten off to a fantastic start this season, making history on their home ice.

After playing woefully underwhelming hockey at Madison Square Garden to begin the 2025-26 campaign, the team has done a complete 180-degree turn. They are 5-0-0 on home ice, only the third time in franchise history they have won at least their first five games at home.

Contributions are being made up and down the lineup, with the Alexis Lafreniere breakout in full effect. Tye Kartye has looked great since being moved up into the top-six, and the team’s performance at the blue line has been much improved.

However, the biggest reason for the team’s level of success in the early going is their goaltending. Igor Shesterkin, before he suffered a season-ending lower-body injury, was remarkable. He has since been replaced by Dylan Garand, who is playing at a high level himself.

Where do Rangers rank in NHL Super 16?

As a result of their excellence, the Rangers are heading in the right direction in the NHL Super 16 Power Rankings. The team made their debut in the rankings last week, landing at No. 6 after being unranked the first week.

Another step forward was made, with New York coming in at No. 5 this week, receiving 154 total points. All 14 voters on the panel had the Rangers in their top 16. The highest they were placed was No. 2, and the lowest they were on anyone’s ballot was 12, where two people had them.

Nos. 4 and 6 were the most common landing spots for New York, with three ballots each placing them in one of those two spots.

The only teams ahead of them in the rankings were the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes with 222 points, the team they defeated in the Stanley Cup Final, the Vegas Golden Knights with 196, the Edmonton Oilers with 175 and the Colorado Avalanche with 174.

Goaltending was the topic of discussion, and the Rangers had the best duo in the NHL before Shesterkin went down with an injury. Garand, a 24-year-old rookie, is quickly proving to be an NHL-caliber netminder with his performance in the early going.

The question now is: can he sustain this level of performance? An NHL regular season is a grind, and the rookie is going to be counted on to do a lot of the heavy lifting, especially until Joonas Korpisalo can return from injury in a few weeks.

Thus far, Garand has made four appearances, three starts with a 3-1-0 record. His .951 save percentage and 1.15 goals-against average are both the best in the NHL currently.