New York Rangers season snapshot awards

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.

Today, the award-worthy candidates for the New York Rangers at the pause:
The New York Rangers entered the season with guarded optimism after a big offseason filled with marquee signings, trades and their highest draft pick since 1966.
A slow and inconsistent start has given way to a surge that has put the Rangers into contention to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing the past two seasons.
Several players have stood out, enabling the Rangers to push their way up the standings in the past six weeks with a 14-7-1 record since Jan. 31.
To showcase the top performances this season, here are the top players in various categories:

MVP

Artemi Panarin has lived up to his billing as an elite forward after signing a seven-year, $81.5 million contract with the Rangers on July 1, 2019. Panarin is having the best season of his five in the NHL, with career highs in goals (32), assists (63) and points (95). He is tied for second in the NHL in assists with Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and tied for third in points with Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak. He's also second in the NHL, first among forwards, with a plus-36 rating behind Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves' plus-40. Panarin has at least one point in 54 of his 69 games, including at least two in 28.

Rookie

Adam Fox should be recognized as a candidate for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. The 22-year-old defenseman, acquired in a trade from the Carolina Hurricanes on April 30, 2019, has 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 70 games and is averaging 18:54 of ice time. He is third in assists and is tied with Buffalo Sabres forward Victor Olofsson for fourth in points among NHL rookies. He has 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) and is plus-13 in 22 games since Jan. 31.

Defenseman

Fox gets this award too. Jacob Trouba leads the Rangers in ice time per game (22:34), and Tony DeAngelo has 53 points (15 goals, 38 assists), tied with Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks for fourth among NHL defensemen, but Fox has been New York's best defenseman in all three zones. He leads the Rangers in takeaways with 57, and his 92 blocked shots are second to Trouba (128). He also leads the Rangers in shot attempts percentage (51.6 percent).

Defensive forward

Mika Zibanejad leads the Rangers with 41 goals, but the center has been as important in a defensive role. Zibanejad is a regular on the top penalty-kill unit, averaging 2:37 of shorthanded ice time per game, first among Rangers forwards and second to defenseman Marc Staal (2:44). He also has the lowest offensive-zone face-off percentage (48.6 percent) among New York's top three centers, including Ryan Strome and Filip Chytil. Zibanejad has been on the ice for 56 even-strength goals by the Rangers and for 48 allowed by New York.

Comeback player

Jesper Fast had 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 66 games last season but missed the final 10 games because of a shoulder injury that didn't require surgery. The forward has played in all but one of the Rangers' 70 games this season and has 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists), four shy of the NHL career high he set in 2017-18 in 71 games. Fast has been the regular right wing on the second line with Panarin and Strome.