SUNRISE, Fla. – A few days before he joined the ranks of Rangers’ prospects in the healthy scratch club, Brennan Othmann had accepted the possibility.
“You’ve just got to know your role and where you're at,” the rookie forward told lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Wednesday. “I know that I'm kind of a guy right now, with the position that we're in as a team and that I'm in, that could be up and down the lineup. I could be out of the lineup. So, I’ve got to just go in every day, not wondering what I'm doing, but knowing what I have to do to stay in the lineup and knowing what I have to do to be noticeable in these games. And if you're noticeable, then you stay in the lineup consistently.”
It was a mature take from a 22-year-old who understands he has a ways to go to become an established NHLer, but there’s a case to be made that he was in the process of doing that before the Rangers and head coach Peter Laviolette pulled the plug the very next day.
Othmann’s offensive production has been lacking – he’s still searching for his first NHL goal after 20 games played – and his defensive details remain a work in progress, but a look under the hood reveals some very encouraging trends.
In the six games prior to back-to-back scratches, the 2021 first-round pick led the team with a 74.71% xGF, according to Natural Stat Trick, with the Rangers outscoring opponents 7-1 while he was on the ice. His determination to get to the high-danger areas has jumped out, leading to a handful of close calls for that elusive first goal.
“I’ve always tried to play in front of the net,” he said. “I'm always trying to be a (Brad) Marchand, a (Brady or Matthew) Tkachuk in front of the net and kind of get under guys’ skin. The first few games kind of took me a while to do that. But now I've played 20 games, and there's a comfortability factor.”
Othmann didn’t shy away from his disappointment about not scoring yet – “It’s something that I wish would come soon,” he said – while pointing to the difficulty of beating goalies at this level.
He rattled off a few big names, including Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck and Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, who have robbed him recently.
“These are some of the best goalies in the world,” he said. “And you're like, ‘Wow, if I could have got one past that guy, maybe some confidence would start creeping up in my direction.’”
Othmann certainly got a jolt of confidence from his fleeting top-line assignment on the right wing next to Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.
The results from that trio in four games together were excellent across the board. In 54:27 time on ice, they outscored opponents, 6-0, with a 77.11% xGF, 69.05% Corsi and 65.45% shot share. That included a 38-18 edge in scoring chances, with a staggering 15-2 advantage in high dangers.
“I think ...
