There might still be a lot of hockey left to be played this season, but with the way the New York Rangers are playing right now, the end might come sooner than everyone thinks.
Yes, the Rangers still have a winning record of 12-9-1. Yes, the Rangers are somehow still in a playoff spot, and yes, there are still 60 games to play in the regular season.
With that said, there is no doubt that right now, the Rangers are not a good hockey team. That may be an understatement.
As of this writing (Friday, November 29), the Rangers have lost five games in a row and have convincingly lost them all. Just take a look at these scores:
- The team lost 3-2 to the Calgary Flames back on November 21. The Flames outshot them 49-29.
- The team lost 6-2 to the Edmonton Oilers back on November 23. The Oilers outshot them 40-34 and let Connor McDavid skate all over them.
- The team lost 5-2 to the St. Louis Blues on November 25. The Blues outshot them 44-29 and looked disinterested in winning a hockey game.
- The team lost 4-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes back on November 27. The Hurricanes outshot them 31-22, gave up a lead in the third period, and also gave up two power play goals.
- The team lost 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on November 29. The Flyers outshot them 35-24 as the Rangers looked disconnected all over the ice.
There have been several noticeable themes in the five losses. For starters, the Rangers are giving up way too many shots on a nightly basis.
In looking at the above, you will see that the Blueshirts gave up over 30 shots each game. Heck, they gave up 40 shots in three straight games in losses to the Flames, Oilers, and Blues.
This is not going to be sustainable for the Rangers if they want to get out of the funk that they are in. The team is currently (As of Friday, November 29) 31st in the league in shots allowed per game as they give up just over 33 shots per game (33.1).
Speaking of allowing a lot of shots, a lot of pressure is being put on their goaltenders, in particular Igor Shesterkin, to singlehandedly win them games. Except for his starts against the Flames (46 saves) and Flyers (32 saves), Shesterkin has looked a bit shaky between the pipes and has also even looked frustrated at the team in front of him.
Another problem that the Rangers have is that they look out of sync. Whether it is on the defensive zone, neutral zone, or offensive zone, errors are being made in all areas of the ice.
There have been a lot of missed passes, giveaways, getting caught out of position, players losing their spot on the ice, players passing up shot opportunities, players missing the net with the puck, and players looking lost out on the ice. They do not look like an organized hockey club.
What is also not helping the team is everything that is going on outside the dressing room and off the ice. On Monday, November 25, Rogers Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Rangers general manager Chris Drury made it known that both team captain Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider are available via trade.
While hearing Trouba’s name mentioned when it comes to trade talk is nothing new and something that would probably be welcomed by a lot of Rangers fans out there, hearing Kreider’s name certainly came as a surprise. Kreider has been with the Rangers his entire career and has done nothing but produce, come through in the clutch, be a leader on and off the ice, and be everything that a Ranger is supposed to be.
There is no doubt that there is something wrong with the Rangers right now and that some changes need to be made. The question is what change, if any, will Drury make, and when will he do it?
The Rangers are in bad shape right now and they need to be fixed. If that does not happen sooner rather than later, things could get ugly come both the trade deadline and the offseason.
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