SUNRISE, Fla. — It's hard to believe that just six months ago, the Rangers were playing the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
At the time, despite the pretense that the Rangers were leading the series 2-1, there was little competition, and on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena, the Blueshirts had lost the most in recent weeks. Even the most valiant efforts resulted in an empty net and a 5-3 loss.
President and general manager Chris Drury took it back this summer anyway.
And now the Rangers are here, sitting at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, having lost 15 of their last 19 games after four straight games, and on the brink of a disastrous follow-up to a Presidents Trophy-winning season. .
It wasn't enough then, and it's not enough now.
In the 182 days since they last played in South Florida, the Rangers have gone from Eastern Conference finalists to 26th in the NHL.
Or the laughing stock of the league.
In this situation, they are the same thing.
The Rangers came back in the second period with two goals from Filip Chytil and Ryan Lindgren, but this was the seventh time in their last 18 games that they conceded two goals within 2 minutes and 17 seconds, and they were in a multi-goal hole to begin with. I noticed that. game.
Not to mention, this was the 11th time they allowed an opponent to score two goals within 4 minutes, 00 seconds.
The Panthers remain a blueprint for a tough team to play against. Despite being outshot 13-9 in the middle frame, Florida took 38 seconds to respond to the Rangers' push and regain the lead.
A strong keep-in at the Panthers' blue line caused chaos around the Rangers' net, but then Jesper Boqvist picked up a spilled puck and buried it in the wide-open net for a 3-2 lead.
The Rangers' power play ended a 0-for-22 run in their past eight games with a goal from Chris Kreider, tying the game at 3-3 with just over five minutes remaining in the final frame.
However, Boqvist scored his second goal of the game late in the period with a wild sequence at the net to secure the victory.
Matthew Tkachuk sat in the box with 2:50 left in the game and the Rangers were unable to take advantage of the power play, allowing Aleksander Barkov to score an empty-net goal to end the game.
As a result, the Panthers avoided a three-game losing streak and helped the home team overtake the Maple Leafs and take sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.
There is no question that Rangers' effort was better.
Monday night was probably one of the best in the last month and a half.
The schedule challenges they faced were unforgiving.
Moreover, the team's repeated inability to match the top-tier clubs it has faced in the past only further confirms that it cannot win with the current way the team is built.
The Rangers still drop the puck easily.
In the neutral zone there is zero resistance.
The first period was like “Groundhog Day” for the Rangers these days. Same story, but on a different day.
After several Rangers whiffed trying to clear the puck, Mika Zibanejad's shot hit Gustav Forsling's stick and was tipped by Ietu Luostarinen for a 1-0 lead just over three minutes into the game. .
Zibanejad's minus-22 rating this season is the third-worst in the NHL.
Just 2 minutes and 15 seconds later, the Rangers were forced into their own territory before Dmitry Kulikov's shot got caught in traffic.
Head coach Peter Laviolette challenged goalkeeper interference, but the goal was ultimately disallowed.
