The Rangers will face a whole new set of expectations for the 2022-23 season, which begins in just over seven weeks when the Lightning venture to Madison Square Garden on Oct. 11 for the first time since they ended the Blueshirts’ longest playoff run since 2015 in the conference final just two short months ago.

Instead of simply aiming to qualify for the postseason, which was their ultimate goal at the start of last season, the Rangers will be expected to return to the playoffs. As successful as their 2021-22 season was, the Rangers still have areas of their game that could use some improvement — especially if they hope to build on their last playoff run and reach the Stanley Cup Final.

Faceoffs have been a point of emphasis for the Rangers for quite some time. Remember when they brought in retired linesman Pierre Racicot to work with the team in the opening days of last season’s training camp? The effort to improve at the dots was there, but it didn’t exactly play out on the ice as well as they would’ve hoped.

The Rangers did slightly improve from 2020-21 to 2021-22, going from a 44.5 faceoff win percentage to 48.1, which ranked 24th in the NHL. Still, there seemed to be too many games when they were annihilated in the circles. This certainly played a part in their occasional struggles with puck possession.

In their past three postseason appearances, including when they were swept in three games by the Hurricanes during the 2020 bubble playoffs, the Rangers have been under 50 percent on draws.

Mika Zibanejad did take a significant leap at the dots, finishing with a career-high 52.32 win percentage. Plus, in losing Ryan Strome (career 45.3 faceoff win percentage) and gaining Vincent Trocheck (52.1 career percentage), the Rangers could continue on their upward trajectory in this area.

Several Rangers acknowledged throughout last season the need to improve on second and third scoring chances, as well as getting to the net more. The high-end talent at the top of the lineup has resulted in a homogenous way of scoring at times, with players often looking for the prettier pass or shot rather than getting to the dirtier areas of the ice or crashing the net.

There’s nothing wrong with a team playing to its strengths, but the Rangers could improve on the diversity of their scoring.

Their 50.83 HDGF% (percentage of total goals off high-danger scoring chances) ranked 18th in the league, while their 17.23 HDSH% (percentage of high-danger shots that were goals) came in at 16th. In comparison to the teams with the top numbers in this category, the Panthers posted a 59.62 HDGF% and the Hurricanes owned a 57.07 HDGF%. Those are two high-volume shot teams, who get the puck to the net in several different ways.

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A major reason why the Rangers were able to get away with their puck possession numbers this season is because of star goalie Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers shouldn’t apologize for having one of the top netminders in the NHL, but they can certainly make it a bit easier on him.

For an 82-game season plus however many playoff rounds, the Rangers’ reliance on their select top scorers and Shesterkin isn’t the most sustainable course of action. Their 47.1 shot attempts percentage came in at 25th in the league, while their 47.4 unblocked shot attempts percentage slot in at 23rd. There simply aren’t enough offensive opportunities being generated, and it comes down to not having the puck as much as they could.

During the playoffs, the Kid Line of Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko showed what’s possible when there’s extended periods of time with the puck. Even if the puck isn’t going in, it’s not just less time in their zone, but it’s a way to wear down opponents.