10-8-4
The New York Rangers spent a week on the West coast just before Thanksgiving. In the four game trip, they went 2-1-1. Losing in OT to Seattle was disappointing but the loss to Anaheim was a disaster. A team with the Rangers’ talent cannot fail to a team at the bottom of the rankings. That’s just throwing points out of the window and the best way to make it harder to make the playoffs. Then the Rangers followed up that disaster with an embarrassing loss to Edmonton at home. Blew a 3-goal lead in the third period to lose 4-3. Depressing.
The thing is, the first two periods against Edmonton were great. Active play on offense and defense. They kept McDavid and Draisaitl from doing anything. Stopped plays from progressing in the middle of the ice. Getting the Oilers to get called on penalties. Scoring five times! Two were called off due to goalie interference and offsides but the Rangers were largely in control for the entire game. Then they stopped in the third period. Penalties were called on the Rangers that turned into goals (2), the last being the game-winning goal by Draisaitl. The Oilers just got to do whatever they wanted to do. Mindboggling.
It feels like the Rangers don’t have the killer instinct to win. They get too confident and play down, which puts them into a ditch they can’t climb out of. The come-from-behind win in LA last week is I think the only come-from-behind win this season. If not, it might be 3 total, something very low. And they came back from being down 2-0 after the first period in that one. It was like watching last season’s team tear things up!
Games keep falling away from them. They should be 14-5-3, not this wobbly just over .500 run that feels like it’s ready to fall apart at any time. Panarin hasn’t scored in 12 games now. The Power Play has gone completely ice cold. You need those player advantage goals to win games. Against Edmonton, the Penalty Kill fell apart. You need that defense to win games.
It’s disturbing to see how this team is playing now. The lessons learned and the momentum they had from last season are gone. Sure they didn’t keep the end-of-season trades they made (Copp, Vatrana, Motte) but the additions over the off-season and the core of the team are solid. This caliber of play is all wrong. Is this a confidence issue? Is something up in the locker room? Are players hurt? Is it a coaching issue? Do the lines need to be re-arranged?
There’s a pivotal game tonight against the Devils who are having the best season in like a decade. 18-4? The top three teams in the league with Boston and Las Vegas. The Devils are clicking and the Rangers aren’t. The Rangers have to play like a functioning team or they are going to get run over tonight. This is a major rivalry no matter what, but some serious pride is on the line here. This is the first meeting of 4 this season so it’s only a sample of what’s to come but it could be a telling matchup showing a team that is going to continue succeeding and another that might not make it out of the regular season.