Adam Foxs extra power-play duties only adding to his Rangers value in stellar start to season
These are the nights that, in a way, have become normal for Adam Fox over the course of his career, through his Norris Trophy-winning season in 2020-21 and the five campaigns since.A goal.
Two points.Twenty-plus minutes of ice time to anchor the Rangers blue line. But nights like Tuesday, with a 3-1 win over the Blues to snap a four-game skid, also reaffirm Fox’s status as one of the Blueshirts’ most indispensable pieces.
His pair of points moved him to 19 through 16 games, the third-most by a defenseman in the NHL.And in a game where the Rangers tested their jumbled power-play units and were without Sean Durzi, Fox double-shifted with the man advantage and logged almost four minutes on the penalty kill too.The Rangers had six minutes of power-play time against St.
Louis, and Fox stayed on the ice for 5:26 of it. Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.“I’ll never complain about it,” Fox said of staying with both power-play lines postgame.
“But, you know, I think it’s easier when you’re in there and you have zone time and you’re not breaking the puck out four times.I thought we had some good looks, obviously some saves.
I think I would take those power plays over the ones sometimes where you get a goal on a rush and you lose momentum when you’re not really snapping around.” At this rate, with the Blueshirts nearing the quarter mark of their 84-game season, Fox sits on pace for 99 points — which would shatter his previous career high of 74.At this rate, he’ll find himself back in the Norris conversation along the other regulars such as the Oilers’ Evan Bouchard (28 points), the Wild’s Quinn Hughes (22 points) and the Avalanche’s Cale Makar (18 points).
At this rate, with Fox extension-eligible after next season and the market for stars continuing to get reset, a career year would only add to the final number for his nex...