The sun rose on the Rangers on Friday, but the world wasn't the end of last night's 6-1 loss to the Sabers at The Garden. But it wasn't entirely business as usual when the club reconvened at the world's most famous training facility.
“It wasn't much different in practice where we worked on the missing parts of the game, but the meetings weren't the same,” Artemi Panarin told the Post. “Normally after a win we are almost positive, but today we were zero positive, which is not surprising.
“I think it's a good time to remember the little things that start with the battle. Everyone has to win the battle. We may lose sometimes, but that's not the case. We have a chance. That's sad because I didn't and I didn't even try.”
The Rangers lacked structure for most of the season. Their 8-3-1 record entering Saturday's game against the Red Wings is no optical illusion, and their ability to win games is a skill. But the Blueshirts have generally won with great goaltending and muscle memory.
It's not a formula for sustained success. Even if the Rangers were cheating, Thursday night was no joke. There were a lot of things that needed attention.
“I think everyone has a bad game. The difference is how you react. Do you fix it or do you smile and carry on?” said Panarin, who, like his teammates, was on the ride against Buffalo. , he said. “Yes, we have to stay positive, but we also have to be disciplined.
“You can make games like this positive and good and help yourself. It's a long season and you can't always be negative, but this was like a real slap in the face.”
There are issues in the defensive zone. Rangers haven't escaped cleanly enough. Their coverage seems to fall apart quickly as players try to cover for mistakes by teammates or fail to clear and find themselves in no-man's land. It certainly needs dramatic improvement.
But there's another issue that complicates it further.
When Peter Laviolette went behind the bench last season, he talked about a game of intense forechecking and pressure on the puck. When Gerard Galant took over for the 2021-22 season, he talked about puck pressure on the ice. When David Quinn left BU for the Rangers job in the 2018-19 season, he talked about the forecheck and puck pressure.
guess what? The Rangers are not a puck-owning team.
guess what? The Rangers lack a heavy, consistent, and effective forecheck.
Of course there are exceptions. Will Quill, Kaapo Kakko, Vincent Trocheck, No. 4 hitter Adam Edstrom, Sam Carrick, and Jimmy Vesey come to mind, but this team was primarily a one-and-done team that utilized skill. It was a rush team. It's not just this year. This has been the case since the core was formed in 2020. This is the first time since 10 years ago when Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard tried to play a perfect East-West play to avoid North-South scoring opportunities. (Some statements were made by the previous administration.) But things have become more extreme in recent weeks.
I asked Laviolette if the team has the forecheck pressure it needs. The answer is no.
“No, we can be out of place sometimes, and that can also lead to bad things,” he said. “And that’s what we’re talking about.
“Sometimes you just go there and put it down. [the puck] There has been discussion for some time about bringing it back into the realm of possibility. Put it somewhere you can get it back, put more numbers around it, and yell a little more when you get there. ”
There is a lull in activity. The Rangers are 3-3 in their last six games, losing 14-8 at 5-on-5. The power play has stagnated with just 3 hits in 17 over the last six games. However, there were no personnel changes in PP1.
His record of 8 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw, and his winning percentage of .708, which ranks 9th in the league, is a testament to his patience. But there has to be a reaction to Thursday and a recognition that not only is this not good enough, it's not good enough in the playoffs.
You've heard it, and so have they.
“The silver lining here is that even though we're 8-3-1, we know there's a lot of room for improvement,” Vincent Trocheck told the Post. “If we can figure this out, we're in a great spot to take off.”
