Struggles Continue for the Rangers
Mika Zibanejad’s perspective showed a stark contrast to the reality the Rangers face. Sure, they dropped many games early this season, but inadvertently, they seemed to lay down a shaky groundwork that ultimately led them to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Following an 8-4 defeat to the Senators, bringing their struggles to a critical point, Zibanejad remarked, “It was an effort.” The process wasn’t entirely flawed. The Rangers began with a 3-5-2 record and felt somewhat positive about their play, even if they didn’t secure a home game until November 10th. In the less-than-ideal locker room at Madison Square Garden, Zibanejad tread carefully, wanting to avoid suggesting the team wasn’t trying hard enough.
“But I think our game improved,” he added. “We really should’ve performed better early on… It’s tough to deal with, and we need to figure it out. Honestly, it’s challenging. We’re in this situation and we just have to keep pushing forward.”
Things took a turn for the worse on Wednesday, with the home crowd booing and chants of “Fire Drury” echoing through the arena. Subsequently, their goaltender was benched after conceding six goals, marking their ninth loss in just 11 games.
Once considered contenders, the Rangers now struggle with stability. By March, when the trade deadline comes around, the roster may look quite different as the team grapples with how far they’ve strayed from the version they initially envisioned back in October.
Coach Mike Sullivan spoke candidly about the emotional highs and lows impacting the team’s performance. “There’s been a lot of anger,” he noted. “We’ve worked hard to stir up the emotions necessary to fix this situation and move forward. We’re committed to making these adjustments.”
Sullivan explained that the team’s biggest hurdle lies in their mindset. They’ve strayed from playing instinctively and confidently, which is understandable, I suppose. Now they’re forcing plays, impacting their choices. Vincent Trocheck echoed this sentiment, noting that they might be trying too hard.
In the first 19 games, despite often playing well, the Rangers couldn’t gather points, finishing with a 10-7-2 record and allowing an average of 2.5 goals per game. Sullivan warned after a shutout loss against the Capitals that this was the benchmark they aimed for. They even managed to take overtime against the Avalanche in December, settling for just one point, which felt okay given the circumstances.
However, things have dramatically shifted over the past 29 games, with goals per game rising to 3.4, just as their record fell to 10-15-4. The Senators managed to hit that average by just the first period in their latest match.
“We have to play hard,” Sullivan stressed. “We’re focusing on cultivating competitive spirit, being willing to skate hard, and going into tough areas.” But there’s also a need for strategy.
Collective teamwork appears diminished, which is quite telling. The Rangers don’t resemble the group they were earlier in the season, skirting around the playoff line. They also lack the formidable presence that characterized previous seasons, those squads being filled with late-game heroes and power-play threats. The excitement that followed Sullivan’s hiring? It’s missing, and it doesn’t quite compare to the buzz surrounding earlier coaching additions that led to successful campaigns.
Reliving last Saturday’s dismal 10-2 loss to the Bruins was unwanted, yet here they were, experiencing another harsh reminder of just how far the Rangers have fallen since then.
