The New York Rangers had the best record in the NHL last season, but after 27 games this season, they are struggling, with eight losses in their last 10 games.
Three days after trading captain Jacob Trouba to Anaheim, the Rangers lost again, 2-1 at home to the Chicago Blackhawks, the team with the worst record in the league. During the game, the Rangers were booed several times by their fans at Madison Square Garden, where they have now lost eight out of 15 games this season.
“We’re not feeling great about that – for sure,” said Artemi Panarin, New York’s leading scorer, who didn’t get any points against his former team on Monday. “We’ve got to play better so we don’t hear that anymore.”
The Blackhawks, who hadn’t won a road game in over five weeks, played well with strong defense, good execution, and few mistakes. The Rangers took 30 shots and managed just one short-handed goal from Will Cuylle against Arvid Soderblom, the Blackhawks’ backup goalie, who had a 1-6-1 record.
This loss marked the second straight game where the Rangers were beaten by a backup goalie. On Sunday, they lost 7-5 to Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer after blowing a 3-1 lead.
“The execution was off all night. Could be fatigue. Could be mental. Could be anything,” said Rangers coach Peter Laviolette. “Regardless, it’s unacceptable. We’ve got to be better than that. You’re not going to win hockey games if you can’t execute.”
The Rangers started the season strong with a 12-4-1 record but have gone 2-8-0 since their 4-3 win over Vancouver on Nov. 19. The team traded Trouba and his $8 million salary, which freed up cap space but left them without a tough physical presence on defense.
New York’s star goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, who just signed an eight-year, $92 million extension on Saturday, has a 9-10-1 record and has lost six of his last seven games.
Laviolette stressed that the leadership group, now without Trouba, needs to step up if the Rangers want to improve their position in the standings.
“The only answers are going to come from that room,” Laviolette said. “We’ve got to be better than we were tonight.”
For Chris Kreider, the team’s most experienced player at 33 years old, the solution is to bring the right mindset and put in consistent effort. The Rangers play Buffalo on Wednesday and will return home to face the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
“We have to get back to work and show we can play the right way,” Kreider said. “And we have to do that for 60 minutes.”
