NY Rangers Lived up To Billing as Physical Team Leading NHL in This Stat

The New York Rangers led the NHL in a stat that epitomizes the toughness they want to play with.

Apr 4, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan speaks to reporters after a 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

There wasn’t much that went right for the New York Rangers during the 2025-26 NHL regular season.

They finished last in the Eastern Conference with only 77 points. It was a disappointing campaign, as the addition of Mike Sullivan as head coach didn’t have as big an impact as ownership was hoping.

However, the style of play that he brought with him for the Rangers to play did translate on the ice. He wanted a physical, old-school feel that opponents would feel from the opening faceoff down to the final buzzer.

In that regard, New York succeeded. There wasn’t a team that laid the lumber as much as the Rangers, who had the highest percentage of hits made in the NHL with 56.73%, per Sean McIndoe of The Athletic (subscription required). Of course, some of that is aided by how much the opposition had possession of the puck.

Rangers played with high-level physicality this season

May 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73) hits Florida Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (91) during the first period of game five of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

When you are losing as much as New York was during the season, it is natural to have more opportunities to make hits on the ice. If the Rangers are losing games and don’t possess the puck themselves, they are going to play a physical brand of hockey to try and get it back.

New York lapped the field when it came to hits delivered this past season. They averaged 25.47 hits per 60 minutes, with the second-best team being the Florida Panthers at 24.42 hits per 60 minutes.

In total, the Rangers had nearly 100 more hits than the next closest team during the regular season. They totaled 2,112, while the second-place Panthers had 2,024.

Leading the way for New York when it came to hits is left winger Will Cuylle. He had 302, which was the third most in the NHL behind Minnesota Wild center Yakov Trenin with 413 and left winger Keifer Sherwood, who played for the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks this past season, and had 339.

Can physicality translate to wins for Rangers?

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan speaks to reporters after an 8-1 win against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Cuylle was in a league of his own compared to his teammates in terms of total hits. The next closest on the team was center Vincent Trocheck, who had 193 in 67 games played.

Eight different Rangers players recorded at least 100 hits on the season, including fellow forwards J.T. Miller, Noah Laba and Mika Zibanejad.

The highest hits per 60 minutes on the Rangers belong to center Matt Rempe, who embodies physicality, measuring in at 6-foot-9 and 261 pounds. He recorded a 23.05 hits per 60 minutes, which was 11th in the NHL.

Sullivan certainly hopes this style of play will translate to more victories next season after a disappointing first year at the helm.