The season series against the Islanders has been pretty reflective of the Rangers’ overall performance so far.
To put it frankly, it’s been a painful few games to witness, with a lack of scoring that’s just hard to watch.
After enduring two shutout losses to their Long Island foes in the early part of the season, coach Mike Sullivan’s team, currently sitting at the bottom, is eager to break their scoring drought. They’ll face the Islanders in a home-and-home series starting Wednesday at UBS Arena.
It’s worth noting that a rather dull 2-0 loss to the Islanders’ backup David Rittich right after the Christmas break marked the start of their troubling downward trend. As of now, the Rangers hold the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 3-9-2.
In November, Ilya Sorokin shut them out completely with a 5-0 victory at Madison Square Garden.
After practice on Tuesday in Tarrytown, Sullivan remarked, “I don’t know if there’s much overlap between us and them. When we played them earlier in the season, they had a solid offense, but we just couldn’t find the back of the net. It wasn’t solely about those games against the Islanders.”
Currently, the Rangers (22-25-6) have experienced eight shutouts in just the first 41 games of the season, which is quite a record—at this rate, they could approach the NHL record of 16 shutouts in a single season, last set by the Blue Jackets in 2006-07.
Despite only winning three of their next 14 games, the Rangers appear to have at least shaken off their shutout woes, recently clinching a 4-3 overtime win against the Bruins on Monday.
“I feel like our team is getting better at scoring during five-on-five play and on the power play,” Sullivan added. “We need to keep improving our puck defense and be tighter defensively.”
He continued, “That’s been a significant part of our game for a while now, and it’s crucial that we maintain that.”
On another note, veteran defenseman Carson Soucy is leaving the Rangers, as he’s been traded to the Islanders in exchange for a third-round pick in 2026 after sitting out the game against Boston.
Interestingly enough, his first games with his new team could be against his former teammates.
“These kind of situations don’t happen often, but we have a job ahead of us and need to keep our focus. These two upcoming games should be exciting,” captain JT Miller commented. “Of course, we’ll prioritize Wednesday’s game first, but we want to carry the positive energy from our last match forward.”
Looking ahead, unless something drastically shifts during the Olympic break, Soucy’s trade might be just the beginning of a series of moves expected from general manager Chris Drury ahead of the March 6 trade deadline, with potential big names like leading scorer Artemi Panarin on the table.
“This isn’t where we should be. We aim to win and make the playoffs every year, so it’s tough,” winger Will Quill said. “We really just need to focus on what we can control and strive to be our best selves.”
“I try to keep my mind in the present. I focus on staying grounded and not getting too far ahead. One game at a time, that’s the goal.”
