Once the top team in the National Hockey League, the New York Rangers need to find their identity while putting a 4-6-2 month of January behind them.
The New York Rangers have two games remaining for the month of January. Games against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday and a contest in Ottawa against the Senators would bring their January record to .500, but that wouldn’t salvage a dismal month of hockey that has Peter Laviolette’s team questioning what has gone wrong in such a short period of time.
“Is it make-or-break for the year? I can’t answer that,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said Thursday. “Is it a critical point? We’d like to win these two games to get back on track, win hockey games going into the break and come out of the break knowing you had a little bit of success in the six or seven games prior, you put a winning record together and you started to push.”
Dan Rosen
The team’s fast start to the season has enabled them to remain in first place in the Metropolitan Division, with the Carolina Hurricanes two points behind them entering Friday night’s schedule.
Leading almost every team category early on, the club is now heading towards rock bottom. This month, the Rangers are tied for 24th in goals per game (2.58), 20th in goals-against (3.25), tied for 17th on the power play (19.4 percent), and 19th on the penalty kill (76.7 percent). Their .417 points percentage is tied for 23rd (via NHL.com).
A West Coast trip that saw the Rangers lose the first two games to the Golden Knights and L.A. Kings before getting their only win of the trip against the Anaheim Ducks had the team believing they could return back to New York with a split needed only to defeat the worst team in the NHL, the San Jose Sharks.
That dream never became a reality, with the Blueshirts wasting two significant periods of hockey and blowing a 2-0 lead entering the third period, eventually losing in overtime 3-2.
Center Mika Zibanejad explained the difference entering the third period up two goals and coming back from a two-goal deficit,
“It leaves a bad taste in the mouth after the way we lose the game, if we were down 2-0 and come back with a strong period and lose in overtime, it would be a little bit different. But we have the game, we can’t close it out. If we get the two points, there it’s probably a completely different tone in this locker room right now.”
NHL.com
Quick Goals Against
The Rangers have been victims of lackluster play following a goal scored against them that resulted in another quick goal against them. Their last game was no different, as the team’s 2-0 lead was erased in just over two minutes, with the Sharks tying it early in the third period.
If the month of January has shown anything, it’s the unstable play the Rangers have had in their own end as a unit of five. The defensive woes don’t end with the defenseman; it is a five-man failure.
Looking to get back in the winning column, the club made some moves on their lineup and their roster. The team waived forward Nick Bonino and recalled Jake Leschyshyn from Hartford. Bonino had five points (1g) in 45 games for the Rangers. On the ice at practice on Thursday, Laviolette made some changes that could be used in Friday’s game at the Garden.
The forward line was comprised of ;
Kreider – Zibanejad – Wheeler
Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere
Cuylle – Brodzinski – Kakko
Vesey – Goodrow – Pitlick
The blueline pairs were shuffled as well with;
Miller – Trouba
Gustafsson – Fox
Lindgren – Schneider
I asked Lavi if he’s considered splitting up the Miller-Trouba pair, to which he replied, “Not at this point.” They were on the ice for just 9 GA through the first 23 games, but now 19 in the last 22. Laviolette pointed to lapses in rush defense, putting them in tough spots [along with] difficult matchups they draw.
Vince Mercogliano/NY Post
To the surprise of many, Filip Chytil skated with the team in a red jersey for the first time since he was injured in November.
Two games and then a time to take a breath and figure out how to get back to consistent, 60-minute hockey as they played in October and November. There is no panic within the group, only dedication to working on the problem and getting back on track to winning hockey games.
Follow Frank on x at @RangerProud
