RSS Rangers Team Notes

[New York Rangers]

Rangers pay big price for not doing little things in loss to Sabres

The New York Rangers believe they did a lot of good things against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately for the Blueshirts and the sellout crowd of 18,006 on “Fan Favorites Night,” winning wasn’t one of them.

The Rangers spent the night chasing the game and never did catch up in a 5-2 loss that left them at 20-19-6, four points behind the Sabres for the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers lost even though they out-shot the Sabres 32-21, out-attempted them 64-48, out-hit them 32-16, were 32-19 in the face-off circle, and had a 56.88 percent expected goal share at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick.

Instead, the Sabres won for the 12th time in their past 13 games, and the Rangers fell to 5-11-4 on home ice.

“I thought we played a good game,” coach Mike Sullivan said postgame. “I thought we played hard. I thought we competed hard, thought we were trying to play the game the right way. I thought we generated a fair amount of scoring chances. I thought we defended pretty hard, but it wasn’t perfect by any means.”

That’s an understatement. A big reason they didn’t win was because they didn’t do the little things right.

Josh Doan’s goal 4:07 into the game came after the Rangers failed to clear the puck out of their own end, with Mika Zibanejad’s attempt up the middle intercepted. Alex Tuch’s goal at 6:58 of the second was a shot from the high slot; he was wide-open because Vincent Trocheck got tangled up at the other end of the ice, was slow getting back to the bench for a change, and left the Rangers effectively down a man as they tried to defend.

Rangers pay price for not doing little things right in loss to Sabres​

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

But the killer came late in the third period. Trocheck made it 3-2 by scoring 51 seconds after the period began and Rangers kept the Sabres on their heels until forward Peyton Krebs was assessed a double minor for high-sticking Trocheck with 5:36 remaining.

The Garden was revved up, anticipating the Rangers would at least tie the game – if not take the lead – during the four-minute power play. Instead, things fell apart.

Alexis Lafreniere’s turnover seconds after the draw turned into a 2-on-1 rush for Buffalo. Jonathan Quick, playing in place of injured starter Igor Shesterkin, went down a bit early and Mattias Samuelsson’s short-handed shot from the bottom of the left circle zipped past his ear and into the net, restoring the Sabres’ two-goal lead and completely deflating the Rangers and the crowd.

TAKE A BOW, MATTIAS SAMUELSSON#LetsGoBuffalo | #sabrehood pic.twitter.com/ffhtVBiTsX

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) January 9, 2026

“I thought the third period, that’s been our best period in a while,” Sullivan said. “Just the push, the energy, the willingness to compete, the physicality, both offensively and defensively. Getting inside at the net. All the things we’re asking them to do, I thought, were there. We had a number of opportunities to tie the game that was 3-2. Couldn’t seem to break through.

“We were all around the net. It’s unfortunate, when they get the short-handed goal, because we had a pretty good opportunity there.”

Lafreniere was on the ice in that situation because Trocheck was cut and had to go to the bench. Sullivan said the plan was for Trocheck to come on the ice as soon as the Rangers got the puck deep in the offensive zone — but that never happened.

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The coach also pretty directly pointed the finger at Lafreniere for not sticking to the attack plan for the power play.

“We knew they were a team that’s gonna push out with three-point pressure in the high ice,” he said. “We were trying to encourage them to play in the low ice and use their aggression against them. The players, they have a game plan going in. They have an understanding of what they’re up against. At the end of the day, it’s a player’s game, and it boils down to decision-making and execution.”

The Rangers missed Shesterkin and their best defenseman, Adam Fox, who sustained lower-body injuries during Monday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth. Shesterkin is on injured reserve and his timeline is unknown; Fox is on LTIR and can’t return until Jan. 31 at the earliest.

For now, the Rangers must try to play catch-up in the standings without two of their best players.

Asked Sullivan about this turnover that led to the GW shorthanded goal for the Sabres and he pretty directly pointed the finger at Lafrenière for not sticking to the #NYR game plan:

“We knew they were a team that's gonna push out with three-point pressure in the high ice. We… https://t.co/qnusPF3if5

— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) January 9, 2026

“It hurts,” defenseman Braden Schneider said Thursday night. “It sucks not having them out there, but we gotta try and keep pushing forward. Our team still has a belief that we’re a good team and that we can win games.”

Without Shesterkin and Fox, the Rangers have even less margin for error. They’ve scored two goals or fewer a League-high 25 times and frittered away a winnable game on a night when all seven of the teams holding a playoff berth in the East that saw action, earned points.

“I thought we did a lot of good things,” said Zibanejad, whose second-period goal made it 2-1. “It’s tough obviously when you don’t get anything for it.

“Obviously, we need the points. But compared to other games I feel there is more to build on or take away from this game than others.”

Their next chance to get points is Saturday afternoon in Boston, where they defeated the Bruins 6-2 on Black Friday. That was one of their best efforts of the season; they’ll need a lot more like it moving forward to make the playoffs.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/loss-sabres-mistakes

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers vs. Bruins: Lineups, storylines as Blueshirts try to end slump

The New York Rangers hope history repeats itself when they visit the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon in a nationally televised game.

One of the brightest spots in the Rangers’ up-and-down season came in their last visit to Boston just over six weeks ago. They put on one of their best performances of the season on Black Friday before a national TV audience, thumping the Bruins 6-2 behind a four-point afternoon by Artemi Panarin and a solid defensive effort that limited the B’s to just 21 shots on goal against Igor Shesterkin.

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

That team had an elite goalie and a premier defenseman in Adam Fox. The team that takes the ice Saturday will have neither. Shesterkin and Fox sustained lower-body injuries Monday in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth at Madison Square Garden. Shesterkin is on injured reserve but is eligible to return next week; Fox is on long-term IR and can’t return until Jan. 31 at the earliest.

The Rangers will probably be glad to be on the road after back-to-back home losses to Utah and the Buffalo Sabres this week dropped them to 5-11-4 at the Garden. In contrast, their 15-8-2 record on the road is among the NHL’s best.

One problem the Rangers have had is “chasing the game” – falling behind early and spending the night playing catch-up. It’s what happened in the 5-2 loss to Buffalo on Thursday – they allowed an early goal, trailed 3-1 after two periods and couldn’t get the tying goal despite thoroughly dominating the third period and getting a late four-minute power play.

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

“I thought the third period was our best, without a doubt – just the heightened level of intensity, just playing the right way, making good decisions,” coach Mike Sullivan said after practice Friday. “I think when we play fast, we look fast, and I think that was an indication of that in the third period last night. I think that third period was one of our better periods in the last handful of games.

“That’s the type of game we aspire to put on the ice more consistently, and that’s going to be our challenge moving forward.”

The Rangers enter the weekend at 20-19-6; by points percentage (.511), they are 15th among the 16 teams in the Eastern Conference. The Blueshirts are five points out of a playoff spot after going 1-3-2 since the Christmas break, so running off a few wins sooner rather than later is a must.

A matchup with the Bruins, who enter the day two points ahead of the Rangers, could be an ideal starting point. New York is 6-1-0 in its last seven games against its longtime rival, including 3-1-0 in Boston.

3 storylines when Rangers visit Bruins​

1. More needed from Jonathan Quick​

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Shesterkin’s injury puts a lot of heat on Jonathan Quick, and the future Hall of Famer has to pick up his play.

On the surface, his 2.39 goals-against average and .911 save percentage are excellent. But he’s struggled since the start of December, going 0-4-2 in six decisions (five starts) and posting a sub-.900 save percentage in five of those six games.

He wasn’t awful against the Sabres, but he didn’t make the big save when it was needed – Buffalo scored a back-breaking shorthanded goal during the late four-minute power play on a shot that Quick should have stopped. It put the Sabres up two goals and completely deflated the Rangers and their fans.

Quick went through a slump at the same time last season; he was 1-4-2 in seven starts during December and January and had a save percentage over .900 in just one of those games. The good omen for the Rangers: It came in a 2-1 win over the Bruins on Jan. 2 when he stopped 32 of 33 shots.

The Rangers need another effort like that on Saturday.

2. Shuffling the blue line​

Sullivan kept the shuffled defense pairings he used Thursday at practice Friday, moving Carson Soucy to the left side with rookie Scott Morrow and putting Soucy’s usual partner, Will Borgen, together with Matthew Robertson.

With Fox on the shelf, Morrow is the best puck-moving defenseman left on the roster. But Sullivan has shown he doesn’t trust the defensive aspects of the rookie’s game, and he’s hoping that pairing Morrow with a veteran will balance things out.

“We were trying to spread it out; we’ll take it game to game,” Sullivan said of the switches. “We’ll watch and see how the performance is, how we think the pairs are working. But our thought going into it was to spread the young kids through some of our more veteran guys and help us create a little more balance.”

3. Laba ready to return?​

Hannah Foslien-Imagn Images

The Rangers have missed rookie Noah Laba, who provides speed, physicality and a dash of offense while centering the third line. Laba hasn’t played since New Year’s Eve, when he was freight-trained by Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals in a 6-3 loss.

But Laba was a full-contact participant in Friday’s practice, and Sullivan said he’ll be a game-time decision.

“He’s a possibility,” the coach said. “He participated in full contact (Friday). We’ll see how he responds and make decisions from there.”

Sullivan is pleased with the way Laba has made the transition from college hockey to the NHL – especially the physicality and the longer schedule and travel time.

“I think he’s done a really good job,” he said. “Lavs has steadily improved his overall game, game to game, week to week, month to month. I think without a doubt, one of the biggest challenges, especially coming from college where guys are used to playing a 30-40-game schedule to 80 or 100 (games) is a significant difference. The intensity, the preparation, all of the things that come into play with respect to that. It can be fatiguing in a lot of ways, not just physically. I think Lavs has done a great job handling (it).

Laba has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 42 games while averaging 13:13 of ice time.

New York Rangers projected lineup​

Artemi Panarin — Mika Zibanejad — Will Cuylle

J.T. Miller — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafreniere

Gabe Perreault — Noah Laba — Taylor Raddysh

Anton Blidh — Sam Carrick — Matt Rempe

Vladislav Gavrikov — Braden Schneider

Carson Soucy – Scott Morrow

Matthew Robertson – Will Borgen

Jonathan Quick

Spencer Martin

Rangers vs. Bruins: When, where, what time, how to watch​

Who: New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins

When: Saturday, Jan. 10 at 1 p.m. ET

Where: TD Garden

How to watch: ABC

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/visit-boston-lineups-storylines-bruins

 

[New York Rangers]

Why Rangers must explore Vincent Trocheck trade before deadline

The New York Rangers aren’t interested in undertaking a full-scale rebuild, but they’ll still be facing some tough personnel decisions if they decide to retool their roster before the March 6 trade deadline.

Though the idea of dealing star left wing Artemi Panarin dominates the thinking around such an approach, the Rangers should also be all-in on trading Vincent Trocheck, whose value around the League has likely never been higher.

There’s no doubt that Trocheck’s contributions to the Blueshirts are significant. The impact of his grit, fire and leadership on this team, beyond his outstanding two-way play, is huge. The Rangers simply aren’t the same without him.

Rangers don’t look anything like sustainable contender​

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

However, the Rangers roster is aging, thin and flawed — a collection of players who lack a clear on-ice identity. Star goaltender Igor Shesterkin and top defenseman Adam Fox – perhaps their two most important players – are out with lower-body injuries and on injured reserve and long-term injured reserve, respectively. There’s little question that the Rangers (20-19-6), who need to leapfrog six teams to get into a playoff position in the Eastern Conference, aren’t a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Barring a hard-to-envision extended hot streak between now and the March 6, there is every reason to churn the roster if possible, with getting younger and faster being the priority.

Putting Panarin, a 34-year-old who can become an unrestricted free agent this summer, on the market (if he’s willing to waive his full no-move clause) might fetch a significant return. But Trocheck represents one of the Rangers’ few highly-desirable non-rental veteran assets — and might bring back a young player who could help quickly.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Trocheck has three years remaining on his contract beyond this one, but that actually makes him an attractive trade piece. With a salary-cap hit of $5.625 million, Trocheck should be a relatively easy fit into many teams’ financial pictures, with the cap set to rise substantially over the next few seasons.

The 32-year-old, in fact, looks like a bargain right now. Though he’s missed some time due to injury this season, Trocheck has 10 goals and 25 points in 30 games, and remains a force in the face-off circle with a 54.8 win percentage. His intangibles are in as high demand as ever, since the 13-year veteran has secured his second straight berth on Team USA, this time for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics after he was named to the squad for last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off.

Trocheck has 226 points (84 goals, 142 assists) in 277 games with the Rangers.

Being a center, which further enhances his value because he plays a premium position, makes him more tradeable for the Rangers. Though their roster is badly lacking in depth, the Blueshirts actually have an abundance of centers. With Mika Zibanejad enjoying a resurgent season playing in the middle, his natural position, the Rangers have him and J.T. Miller to lock into the top two center spots. Each is signed through 2030; they carry a combined cap hit of $16.5 million per season.

Promising rookie Noah Laba, who looks the part of long-term 3C, and veteran Sam Carrick round out the bottom two lines in the middle. Miller returned from a seven-game injury absence Thursday, a 5-2 home loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Laba is expected back soon from an upper-body injury — perhaps as soon as Saturday against the Bruins in Boston.

Vincent Trocheck’s best value to Rangers is as trade piece​

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Though he’s anything but expendable to the Rangers, Trocheck’s departure wouldn’t leave a hole in the lineup. Trading him might bring back scoring help on the wing or depth on the blue line, two areas that have bedeviled the Rangers for years.

Moving on from general manager Chris Drury’s best free-agent signing would hurt. Trocheck, who has a no-movement clause this season that turns into a 12-team no-trade clause for 2026-27, has grown into one of the team’s leaders. He’s been a tone-setter in his three-plus seasons since arriving ahead of the 2022-23 season. In fact, he’s the kind of player that’s hard to replace.

Even with Trocheck, however, these Rangers don’t look like they’re going anywhere — probably not even to the playoffs. Drury knows it, and knows he has to remake his team with more youth and quickness. He also knows Trocheck’s game has more value to a championship contender than to his middling group at this point.

Trocheck can probably best help the Rangers now as an attractive trade chip who can play a big role in a transition toward a more competitive near future. If the Blueshirts continue to head toward a second straight non-playoff season — the loss Thursday was their fifth in six games — it would be derelict for Drury not to explore moving on from one of his best moments as Rangers GM.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/explore-trading-vincent-trocheck

 

[New York Rangers]

Key takeaways after Rangers ‘look helpless’ in 10-2 loss to Bruins

Former Rangers center turned ABC analyst Ray Ferraro said his old team “looked helpless” during the second period of their 10-2 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday. He was being kind.

The Rangers grabbed a quick lead when Mika Zibanejad scored 1:24 into the game. That was just about the last thing they did right all afternoon – the sellout crowd of 17,850 had a swell time watching their team have its way with the Blueshirts, who looked discombobulated for long stretches, showed little resistance and often left goaltenders Jonathan Quick and Spencer Martin on their own to deal with a bunch of buzzing Bruins.

It was the most goals the Bruins have scored against the Rangers since their 10-3 win at Boston Garden on March 10, 1977, and the most scored by any team in an NHL game this season. The Rangers have just two regulation wins in their past 17 games.

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Mike Sullivan, who will have to wait a while longer to become the 30th coach in NHL history to win 500 games, mercifully pulled Quick after Pavel Zacha completed his first NHL hat trick at 11:26 of the second period. Ferraro called it a “mercy pull,” noting that the winningest U.S.-born goaltender in League history “has been on his own this afternoon.”

“Obviously, nobody wants to go through a humbling experience like we just did,” Sullivan said of his team’s performance.

Martin, a journeyman signed by the Rangers in November and recalled from AHL Hartford this week, allowed four goals on 14 shots in his first appearance for the Blueshirts, who fell to 1-4-2 in their seven games since the Christmas break and dropped to the NHL’s version of .500 at 20-20-6.

“We should be embarrassed right now, and I think we are,” said center Vincent Trocheck, who failed to convert a second-period penalty shot. “It’s almost got to be a complete reset. Just completely start over from scratch, and it starts with just heart.”

Rookie Marat Khusnutdinov, who had five goals entering the game, completed his first NHL hat trick 3:51 into the third period and added a fourth goal with 1:29 remaining. David Pastrnak had the first six-assist game of his NHL career. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman finished with 27 saves.

The Rangers got off to a fast start. Swayman couldn’t control a long floater by Matthew Robertson, Artemi Panarin grabbed the loose puck and found Zibanejad in the right circle. His one-timer was in the net in an instant, and the Rangers had a 1-0 lead just 64 seconds into the game.

MIKA MAGIC pic.twitter.com/md7nqc6FMy

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 10, 2026

But it didn’t last long.

Quick stopped a breakaway by Alex Steeves nine seconds after Zibanejad’s goal, but the Bruins capitalized on another breakaway opportunity less than a minute later to tie the game 1-1. Khusnutdinov picked up a pass from David Pastrnak, blew past Bradon Schneider and beat Quick at 2:31.

Boston went ahead 2-1 at 7:16 on Pavel Zacha’s first goal. Zacha picked off Matthew Robertson’s pass in the neutral zone, raced into the left circle and was left wide open when Rangers defenseman Will Borgen lost his footing and fell. He zipped a shot past Quick to put Boston ahead.

It looked like the Rangers had escaped the period down just one goal despite a late 5-on-3 Boston power play – but a video review showed that a shot by Zacha had completely crossed the goal line with 32.9 seconds remaining to put the Bruins ahead 3-1. Boston had a 17-6 advantage in scoring chances and a 7-2 edge in high-danger chances in the first 20 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

The Bruins kept pouring it on in the second period, and the Rangers could do nothing to stop them.

Fraser Minten found himself alone in the slot and beat Quick at 2:12, a goal that came after Borgen failed to clear the zone. Khusnutdinov made it 5-1 at 6:41 and Zacha completed his hat trick less than five minutes later with a rocket from the left circle after another botched clearing effort.

J.T. Miller cut the deficit to 6-2 with a power-play goal at 14:04, but B’s defenseman (and Long Island native) Charlie McAvoy tapped in Pastrnak’s perfect backdoor pass at 15:47 to restore Boston’s five-goal margin.

Khusnutdinov completed his hat trick 3:51 into the third period, tipping Pastrnak’s long shot down and past Martin. Fans who hadn’t thrown hats onto the ice after Zacha’s third goal got a second chance when Khusnutdinov matched him. The rookie’s fourth goal merely made life a little more miserable on a day that left the Rangers with a long flight home.

“That’s as bad as it gets,” Miller said. “The only thing that really matters now is this should sting, like this should suck. This should make you want to puke, and then respond tomorrow and the next day. The only thing that matters is a response.”

Key takeaways after Rangers get blown out 10-2 by Bruins​

D gets an “F”​

Khusy jumps, Khusy scores!

Call it a 'High Five' goal. pic.twitter.com/9Srv5gUdoE

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 10, 2026

The Rangers’ defense looked lost in its second game without Adam Fox, who’s on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury sustained in Monday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth — and it was a group effort.

Schneider was the culprit on each or Khusnutdinov’s goals; Borgen lost his footing on Zacha’s first goal, and his inability to get the puck out of the zone led to Minten’s tally. Scott Morrow ended up out of position and left McAvoy alone for his goal.

In all, the D was minus-16; Carson Soucy and Morrow, who became a pairing this week, were each minus-4 – and even Vladislav Gavrikov, their best defenseman, was minus-2. All six blueliners were minus players. They were overwhelmed all afternoon, struggled to get the puck out of their zone cleanly and were a step (or more) slow against a team that was a lot more ready to play than they were.

Road worriers​

The Rangers were one of the NHL’s best road teams from opening night through the Christmas break. They’ve managed to compensate for their struggles at Madison Square Garden, where they’re 5-11-4, because of their success on the road.

But that success has disappeared in the two weeks since play resumed.

New York is 1-3-1 in its past five games away from Madison Square Garden. That includes 0-3-1 in games played in an opponent’s building – the win was a 5-1 victory against the Florida Panthers in the NHL Winter Classic at loanDepot Park in Miami on Jan. 2 – a game played before a crowd that included thousands of Rangers fans who made the trip south.

The Blueshirts have home games against the Seattle Kraken on Monday and the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, then visit the Philadelphia Flyers next Saturday before a three-game California trip. If they have any hopes of making the playoffs, their road magic had better return quickly.

Depth scoring is MIA​

Third-line center Noah Laba returned to the lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury. But it’s not like he made an impression – he had no points, no shots on goal, one hit and went 4-for-8 in the face-off circle.

But Laba had plenty of company in his invisibility on the score sheet. This was the fourth straight game that the third and fourth lines finished without a point. The last point by a forward who’s not on the top two lines came when Gabe Perreault had an assist on Schneider’s meaningless goal late in the third period of a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on New Year’s Eve.

Bottom-six forwards aren’t expected to produce big offensive numbers. But they are expected to contribute – and the Rangers’ bottom six isn’t doing the job on the attack.

When the final buzzer isn’t final​

This is how the third goal happened pic.twitter.com/Hi50MvmGeR

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 10, 2026

There’s always something new in hockey, but even an ABC crew that included Mark Messier, P.K. Subban and Ray Ferraro couldn’t recall seeing a goal awarded after the end of a period. But that’s what happened Saturday, when the buzzer ending the period sounded and ABC went back to its between-periods studio show – only to flip back to the game telecast after a video review showed that Zacha’s shot had slid barely over the line.

The non-goal-turned-goal was a big one. Getting out of a period in which they were dominated down by only one goal would have been big for the Rangers. Instead, they took the ice in the second period trailing by two, showed little interest in competing and got run out of the building.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/key-takeaways-after-10-2-loss-to-bruins

 

[New York Rangers]

‘As bad as it gets’: Rangers must regroup after being embarrassed in Boston

The only good thing the New York Rangers can say about being embarrassed 10-2 by the Boston Bruins on Saturday was that it was only one game.

The Blueshirts played a couple of clunkers in the first three months of the season (a 4-1 no-show home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 29 comes to mind). But this time they didn’t have Igor Shesterkin in goal to keep the score at least representative, as he did against the Bolts six weeks earlier.

This time, the goaltenders (Jonathan Quick and Spencer Martin) were middling – and often left to fend for themselves. The defense, minus injured Adam Fox for the second straight game, was horrendous. The top-six forwards scored twice; the bottom six extended their pointless streak to four games.

Add it all up and the result is one of the worst losses in franchise history; they hadn’t allowed an opponent to hit double figures since a 10-2 road loss to the Dallas Stars on Feb. 6, 2009.

“We’re all grown men with pride and egos and that’s as bad as it gets,” captain J.T Miller said. “The only thing that matters now is that this should sting. … This should make you want to puke and then respond tomorrow and the next day. The only thing that matters is the response.”

It all added up to complete humiliation by a team they defeated six times in their previous seven meetings, including a 6-2 blitz on Black Friday (also at TD Garden), and left coach Mike Sullivan and his players seeking answers.

“Obviously, no one wants to go through a humbling experience like we just did,” said Sullivan, whose quest to earn his 500th NHL win in his hometown came up empty. “These guys care about what’s going on and it’s not easy when you don’t have success, or don’t live up to expectations. When that doesn’t happen, everyone feels it.”

Rangers must regroup after embarrassing 10-2 loss to Bruins​

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

The Rangers are 0-2-1 since defeating the Florida Panthers 5-1 in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2 in Miami. Sullivan and his staff must spend the time before the Seattle Kraken come to Madison Square Garden on Monday trying to figure out how the team that played such a sharp game against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs eight days earlier could embarrass itself by playing with so little passion and commitment in all phases of the game.

“I’m not going to sit here and point fingers on why we’re at where we’re at,” he said. “Where we’re at is because of all of us and we’ve got to figure out the solutions to try to get back on the right track and give ourselves a chance.

“Here’s what I know: We’re a way better team than we put on the ice today, and for whatever reason, it was a struggle. I don’t have the answers on why, but we’ll work with the players, we’ll dig in and we’ll find a way to play to the level we think we’re capable of.”

The problem for the Rangers is that “where we’re at” is farther and farther away from a playoff berth. The Rangers dropped all the way back to the NHL version of .500 at 20-20-6; the only team with a lower points percentage in the Eastern Conference is the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blueshirts are 1-4-2 since the Christmas break and won just twice in their past nine games.

But losing games is one thing. Playing with so little energy and commitment that an ABC broadcast team that included ex-Rangers Mark Messier and Ray Ferraro were criticizing them is another – Ferraro said during the second period that they “looked hopeless.” The Rangers struggled to score all season, but their defense and goaltending are among the League’s best. That’s no longer the case.

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

“A lot of it boils down to details and commitment,” Sullivan said of his team’s recent struggles. “For a long stretch of the season, I thought we were pretty stingy defensively, and certainly all the numbers suggested that. I think we’ve gotten away from it a little bit lately.

“The other aspect of it is, we’ve played a lot of hockey. We haven’t had an opportunity to practice much, and I do think that has something to do with it also, because you don’t get a chance to get reps at it. But we’re no different than any other team in that regard.

“We’ve got to get back to being a stingier team defensively, and we can create offense off of it.”

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Center Vincent Trocheck, who failed to convert a second-period penalty shot, said the Rangers must learn from the embarrassment of allowing the most goals in an NHL game this season.

“Embarrassing. It’s almost needs to be a complete reset and completely start over,” he said. “We can’t do what we just did, so it’s got to be completely different than today.

“We should be embarrassed right now, and I think we are. The solution isn’t forgetting about it — it’s learn from it, take this game, this feeling we have in our stomachs right now and want to never have it again.”

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/must-regroup-after-embarrassment-in-boston

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers Daily: Blueshirts need more than accountability from J.T. Miller

It was only four months ago that the New York Rangers named J.T. Miller the 29th captain in franchise history. The way things continue to unfold in their centennial season, those four months may feel like 100 years in of themselves to Miller.

That’s especially so after the Rangers lost in such embarrassing fashion Saturday, a 10-2 final which left Miller sick to his stomach.

“That’s as bad as it gets. So, I don’t want, like, I don’t know. The only thing that really matters now is this should sting, like this should suck, like this should make you want to puke. And then respond tomorrow and the next day,” the beleaguered captain stated postgame.

This matinee performance in front of throngs of kids and families at TD Garden was so vile that it should’ve come with an NC-17 rating.

Yes, it was that bad.

And even though Miller scored a power-play goal, he’s as much to blame for what happened Saturday in Boston as the other 19 players who dressed for the Rangers. Each of the 18 skaters was a minus player — Miller finished minus-3 — and goalies Jonathan Quick and Spencer Martin didn’t exactly distinguish themselves either.

As happened many times before in this disappointing season, Miller said the right things afterward, taking responsibility, being wholly accountable. But, really, when do words translate into consistent response? You know, talk the talk, and walk the walk.

“That’s a game where you’re looking for leadership and I got to be better. It’s just unacceptable,” he explained. “Your leaders shouldn’t let games – and I’m talking about myself – get like that. Crowd should never be chanting ‘we want 10.’ Look within. Not try to point fingers and make excuses. It starts with myself and leadership to prevent games like that when you don’t have your best. To not get out of control and hang your goalies out to dry.”

There’s no question that Miller plays hard and gives his all out there. But he’s got 11 goals and 24 points in 37 games. By contrast, he had a career-high 103 points with the Vancouver Canucks in 2023-24, and 35 in 32 games last season after the Rangers acquired him in significant trade Jan. 31.

This season, he’s at the heart of the Rangers’ maddening inability to score consistently. True, he missed nine games due to injury and appeared to play hurt quite often. But Miller is 32 and looks all of those years. And perhaps that C on his sweater weighs him down even more.

What once seemed like a dream scenario for Miller, returning to the Original 6 team that drafted him in the first round more than a decade ago and ultimately named their captain, now appears to have taken a nightmarish turn.

New York Rangers news and analysis​

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Here are our (many) key Rangers takeaways from that terrible 10-2 loss to the Bruins on Saturday.

Even before the latest unsightly team performance, our Tom Castro urged the Rangers to explore trading Vincent Trocheck.

Ahead of the Bruins game, our John Kreiser looked back at the 5-2 loss to the Sabres, and detailed all the little details that cost the Rangers the chance to win earlier in the week.

NHL news and rumors​

Thomas Salus-Imagn Images

New Jersey Hockey Now: Tensions continue to rise across the Hudson River with the freefalling Devils, this one regarding the future of underachieving veteran defenseman Dougie Hamilton. James Nichols breaks down their latest issue to blow up in public for the Devils, whose season appears to be on the brink already.

New York Post: More brilliance from goalie Ilya Sorokin and three points from Simon Holmstrom led the Islanders to another rousing victory, this one a 4-3 overtime win in Minnesota over the Wild.

Daily Faceoff: St. Louis Blues defenseman Philip Broberg sustained an upper-body injury and had to leave their game against the Vegas Golden Knights. This was part of a busy day for Broberg, who signed a six-year, $48 million contract with the Blues on Saturday.

TSN: Oft-injured Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko sustained a lower-body injury in their 5-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Daily Faceoff: Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart is week to week with a lower-body injury. He joins Adin Hill as the second Vegas goalie sidelined by injury, leaving Akira Schmid as the starter fot eh time being.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/more-needed-accountability-jt-miller

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers Week Ahead: Picking up pieces after debacle in Boston

The New York Rangers will try to put themselves back on track this week after their worst loss in nearly 17 years.

The Blueshirts enter their game against the Seattle Kraken at Madison Square Garden on Monday night at 20-20-6, the NHL’s version of .500, after finishing an 0-2-1 week by being humiliated 10-2 by the Bruins in Boston on Saturday in front of a national TV audience. Mika Zibanejad’s goal 1:24 into the game put New York ahead 1-0, but Boston led 3-1 after one period, 7-2 after two and rolled up the score in the final 20 minutes against a team that showed no interest in competing.

New York’s worst loss since a 10-2 drubbing in Dallas on Feb. 6, 2009, capped a week the Rangers would very much like to forget.

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

They let a third-period lead get away Monday in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth – but more importantly, they lost star goaltender Igor Shesterkin and their best defenseman, Adam Fox, with lower-body injuries. Shesterkin might be able to return this week, but Fox is on long-term injured reserve and can’t play again until Jan. 31 at the earliest.

Without arguably their two most important players, the Rangers lost 5-2 at home to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday before the Saturday stomping in Boston, a game that left captain J.T. Miller and his teammates looking for answers.

“That’s a game where you’re looking for leadership and I got to be better. It’s just unacceptable,” Miller said. Your leaders shouldn’t let games – and I’m talking about myself – get like that. (The) crowd should never be chanting ‘we want 10.’ Look within. Not try to point fingers and make excuses. It starts with myself and leadership to prevent games like that when you don’t have your best.

“To not get out of control and hang your goalies out to dry. There’s no point in bitching now. We’re going to let it soak and let it feel terrible inside of us. The only thing that matters is responding on Monday.”

If the Rangers have any hopes of avoiding a second straight non-playoff season, that response had better happen quickly. To reach 90 points, the minimum they’re likely to need for a playoff berth, the Blueshirts need 44 points in their final 36 games, a .639 winning percentage. That’s a level they’ve shown no signs of being able to reach this season.

Who’s Hot​

The Rangers scored six goals last week, and Zibanejad was involved in five of them – he scored two and assisted in three. Throw in his five-point performance (three goals, two assists) in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2 and he’s figured in 10 of New York’s 11 goals in 2026.

Who’s Not​

Where do we start? The entire bottom six went a whole week without a point. The six defensemen were a combined minus-16 in the loss at Boston, with the pairing of Carson Soucy and Scott Morrow each going minus-4. Goalie Jonathan Quick surrendered 10 goals on 40 shots in 4 1/2 periods during the past two games. Take your pick.

Rangers lookahead this week includes …​

Two more home games before the start of a four-game road trip.

Seattle Kraken at Rangers (Jan. 12, 7 p.m.; MSG/NHL Network)​

Blake Dahlin-Imagn Images

Former Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko makes his first visit to the Garden since being traded to the Kraken shortly before Christmas in 2024. The No. 2 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft had 10 goals and 30 points in 49 games for Seattle after the trade but was injured during the preseason and comes to the Garden with four goals and 14 points while playing just 27 of 43 games.

Seattle (20-15-8) owns the first wild card in the Western Conference despite struggling to score (119 goals in 43 games). Ex-Islander Jordan Eberle leads the Kraken with just 15 goals and is tied with Matty Beniers for the team lead with 28 points. Seattle’s savior has been goalie Phillipp Grubauer, who’s rebounded from a miserable 2024-25 season with a 2.27 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage and an 8-3-2 record, giving the Kraken a solid pairing with Joey Daccord (12-10-5/2.83/.903).

The Rangers are 7-1-1 all-time against the NHL’s newest franchise, including a 3-2 overtime win in Seattle on Nov. 1. Miller has 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 14 games against the Kraken; the first 13 came while he was playing for the Vancouver Canucks.

Ottawa Senators at Rangers (Jan. 14, 7:30 p.m.; MSG)​

Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

If you think the Rangers are messed up, take a look at the Senators. Hopes were high in Ottawa after the Sens made the playoffs last spring and were off to a decent start this season. But like the Blueshirts, things have fallen apart since Christmas – the Senators dropped six of their first eight games since the break, including all three last week, and enter the week barely above the Rangers in points percentage.

Goaltending is a huge problem. Starter Linus Ullmark was struggling before leaving the team for personal reasons. Ottawa is last in the NHL with a team save percentage of .868 (the Rangers are 11th at .897).

The Rangers are 5-0-1 in their past six games against Ottawa, including a 4-2 win at Canadian Tire Centre on Dec. 4.

Zibanejad has fared well against the team that took him with the No. 6 pick in the 2011 Draft and traded him to the Rangers five years later. He has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 20 games. Ottawa’s Claude Giroux has played 75 regular-season games against New York and has 64 points (18 goals, 46 assists).

Rangers at Philadelphia Flyers (Jan. 17, 1 p.m.; MSG)​

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Blueshirts make their first visit to Philadelphia in more than a year on Saturday afternoon before heading west for three games in California. The first meeting between the teams this season was one of the Rangers’ highlight moments thus far; they overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period at the Garden on Dec. 20 and won 5-4 in a shootout.

The Flyers (22-13-8) have been one of the NHL’s surprise teams this season under new coach Rick Tocchet as they try to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Free-agent signee Dan Vladar (16-6-4, 2.35 GAA, .910 save percentage) has given them the best goaltending they’ve had in years, while trade acquisition (and Bedford, New York, native) Trevor Zegras (17 goals, 41 points in 43 games) leads them in scoring.

Artemi Panarin has feasted on the Flyers during his career. He scored twice in the Dec. 20 win and has 48 points (17 goals, 31 assists) in 37 career games against Philadelphia. Zibanejad has 20 goals and 44 points in 49 games against the Flyers.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/week-ahead-picking-up-the-pieces

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers can’t maintain strong start, lose 4-2 to Kraken: takeaways

It didn’t take long for the New York Rangers to get the home crowd up on its feet and cheering Monday night. But by time the final buzzer sounded, those same fans booed the Rangers off the Madison Square Garden ice, following a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken.

The Rangers (20-21-6) raced to a 2-0 lead less than six minutes into the game, and carried that advantage into the second period. But it was the Kraken who scored the next four goals, including Shane Wright’s go-ahead tally at 12:02 of the third period to hand the Rangers their seventh loss in the past eight games (1-5-2).

New York recorded 11 shots on goal in the first period, and only 10 more the rest of the game. That included one on the doorstep in the final minute of regulation that was denied by Seattle goalie Philipp Grubauer. Soon after, Kraken center Jared McCann scored an empty-net goal to finish off the Rangers, who remain stuck on five home wins (5-12-4), least in the Eastern Conference and second fewest in the entire NHL.

Mika Zibanejad extended his point streak to six games by scoring his team-leading 18th goal for the Rangers. Sam Carrick added his second of the season, and first in 36 games dating to Oct. 28. Jonathan Quick finished with 26 saves.

Former Rangers Kappo Kakko and Ryan Lindgren each picked up an assist for the Kraken in the first game for both at MSG after being traded in separate moves last season. Eeli Tolvanen and Jordan Eberle also scored for Seattle, which is 9-1-2 in its past 12 games.

The Rangers and Kraken found themselves tied 2-2 after two distinctly different periods of play to start the game. It was New York which got off to the fast start, before Seattle answered back with a strong second period.

Zibanejad scored his third goal in the past three games, at 3:08 of the first period to give the Rangers the start they needed after the embarrassing 10-2 shellacking against the Bruins in Boston over the weekend. His first shot off the rush on right wing deflected off Grubauer and behind the net. Zibanejad chased the puck, and from the trapezoid made a heads-up play by banking a shot off the back of the Kraken goalie and into the net to make it 1-0.

Mika opens the scoring! pic.twitter.com/4rIKM2YKFB

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 13, 2026

Shortly thereafter, a failed Kraken breakout led directly to another goal by the Rangers. Seattle turned the puck over just outside its own blue line, and Carrick took advantage. New York’s veteran center pounced on the puck, and quickly wristed a low shot from left wing that beat Grubauer stick side to make it 2-0 just 5:31 into the game.

Sam Carrick makes it 2-0! pic.twitter.com/xD6W4wRiIk

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 13, 2026

That 2-0 lead held up into the first intermission, thanks to Quick, who made several big-time saves, including a pad stop to deny Ryan Winterton on a breakaway at 12:06.

The Rangers played fast and were on their toes early on, but the visitors flipped the script in period No. 2, holding a 9-4 shots advantage and scoring twice to tie the game.

Tolvanen finished off a 2-on-1 feed from Freddy Gaudreau just one minute into the second period, after Gabe Perreault failed to control a Braden Schneider pass in his skates and turned it over in the neutral zone.

The Kraken tied it up 2-2 at 4:27, when Eberle wired a shot bar-down after deking Quick to the ice, for his team-high 16th goal. Kakko set it up with a clean pass from behind the Rangers net to Eberle, who was between the circles.

Brennan Othmann nearly answered back on the very next shift, but his snap shot hit the post behind Grubauer. The Kraken also caught iron at 3:07 of the third period, when Cale Fleury’s long shot clanged off the crossbar, and the game remained tied.

Nine minutes later, the Rangers failed to get the puck deep at one end and then were caught scrambling at the other. In the ensuing scramble after Quick denied Berkly Catton, Wright barged in and shoved the loose puck over the goal line to give the Kraken their first lead, 3-2.

Seattle then shut down New York on its second power play of the game at 12:28, and survived that late chance by Miller, after Quick exited the ice for a sixth attacker. McCann’s empty-netter removed any doubt about the final result with 8.6 seconds left on the clock.

Key takeaways after Rangers‘ 4-2 loss to Kraken​

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

‘Fragile’ Rangers can’t maintain strong start​

This wasn’t Saturday afternoon, when everything that could go wrong did, and the Rangers folded in a modern-day Boston Massacre. But what took place Monday was also disconcerting, especially how the Rangers simply couldn’t maintain a strong start and carry it over to the final 40 minutes.

There were warning signs in that first period. Quick made several Grade-A saves in order to keep it 2-0. But the Rangers looked deflated after the Kraken scored 60 seconds into the second period. And there really was little pushback the rest of the way from the home team, who lost for the first time this season when leading after the first period (12-1-0).

Zibanejad used a damning — yet spot-on — term, to characterize where the Rangers are at right now.

“When you’re fragile as a group, in a way where things haven’t gone your way, I’m not standing here trying to make excuses for us but it’s trying to also explain what goes through your mind when things are not going for you. Maybe at times we’re looking at someone else to solve the problem. … That doesn’t work in this league,” he said postgame.

Welcome back​

First Lindgren, then Kakko, were welcomed back in the first-period on the center-ice videoboard at MSG. Lindgren played the first 387 games in the NHL with the Rangers, who traded him to the Colorado Avalanche on March 1 last season. Beloved by Rangers fans for his grit and toughness, Lindgren received a warm ovation Monday. As did Kakko, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, who never became the star everyone envisioned he’d be over six seasons with the Rangers. Kakko was traded to the Kraken in December of 2024.

Ryan Lindgren gets welcomed back to Madison Square Garden pic.twitter.com/nR7no6pMkX

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 13, 2026

Kakko tied for the Kraken lead with three shots on goal Monday, had two hits, logged 15:26 TOI, and had that good-looking assist on the game-tying goal. Lindgren had a team-high 22:13 TOI, earned the secondary assist on Wright’s game-winning goal, blocked two shots, and made several heady defensive plays in the closing minutes of the game. Each was plus-2 against his former team.

Kaapo Kakko gets welcomed back to Madison Square Garden pic.twitter.com/XfQi9kVuCc

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 13, 2026

Rough night for J.T. Miller​

The Rangers captain wears these losses in heavy fashion. Yet game after game, he’s there trying to say all the right things afterward. Monday, he simply couldn’t bring himself to try and answer postgame questions.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I don’t know,” the despondent Miller told reporters Monday.

It’s the personal and collective frustration that’s got Miller looking beat right now as the Rangers season goes off the rails.

Miller failed to record a single shot attempt — much less shot on goal — against the Kraken. He played nearly 19 minutes, despite getting smoked by his teammate Schneider in an accidental collision midway through the second period, which caused him to head to the dressing room and miss the start of a Rangers power play at 12:53.

JT Miller went back to the Rangers’ locker room after Braden Schneider collided with Miller. pic.twitter.com/hSzRYsZ0FJ

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 13, 2026

Utter Otter frustration​

Othmann, who was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Sunday, played his best all-around game for the Rangers this season. The 23 year-old forward was noticeable throughout, skating on the third line with Noah Laba and Alexis Lafreniere. He was physical and engaged, credited with a team-high four hits over 12:08 TOI.

However, Othmann remains without goal. Not only in seven games with the Rangers this season. But in 32 NHL games over parts of three seasons. But boy he came close Monday. Twice.

The 2021 first-round pick hit a post early in the first period, and kissed more iron in the second period. The pained expression on his face each time he wired a shot off the post spoke to the utter frustration he’s feeling.

But keep playing and shooting like he did against the Kraken, and Othmann’s bound to finally break through soon.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/recap-lose-again-kraken

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers Daily: Appreciating Artemi Panarin; Blue Jackets fire coach

This may seem like an odd moment to praise Artemi Panarin and urge others to appreciate him as the greatest free-agent signing in New York Rangers history. After all, the Rangers are on life support, and their top offensive player didn’t exactly stand out Monday in a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken.

In fact, it was an all-around rough night for Panarin. He logged more ice time (21:18) than any other Rangers forward not named Vincent Trocheck, and simply didn’t get a whole heck of a lot done out there. He simply wasn’t very noticeable, managing a single shot on goal on his five attempts.

And when the Rangers desperately needed him to come through on a power play, down by one, late third period, he had nothing. In the final minute, with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker and still down by one, Panarin had a great look, but his left-wing blast couldn’t have missed the net more had he tried to do so.

But Panarin did assist on Mika Zibanejad’s game-opening goal, to become the ninth player to record 600 points in Rangers history. None of the eight ahead of Panarin on that list did so in fewer games than the Breadman, who needed just 476 games to reach 600 points wearing the Blueshirt.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

He should catch Ron Greschner (610 points; eighth place) on the all-time list this season. That is, of course, if he isn’t traded before recording another 10 points. In the final year of his contract, and with this season quickly swirling down the drain, Panarin is a big-time asset that general manager Chris Drury must try to cash in.

An NHL roster freeze takes effect during the Olympic break in February. The March 6 NHL Trade Deadline arrives soon after that. It’s really difficult to imagine Panarin finishing out the season with the Rangers.

Yes, Panarin has a full no-move clause and is giving no indication he wants to leave New York before his contract is up. And perhaps the Rangers and Panarin can work out an extension that keeps him on Broadway past this wretched. But he’s not getting any younger (34), and the Rangers aren’t getting any better, so dissolving this union feels like the best course for each side.

If these are his final days and games with the Rangers, we should appreciate Panarin’s greatness. He’s led the Rangers in scoring each of his seven seasons with them. And since 2019-20, only four players in the League have more points than his 600. They are Connor McDavid (790), Leon Draisaitl (708), Nathan MacKinnon (694), and David Pastrnak (604). That sounds like Hall-of-Fame company Panarin’s keeping.

You can question his style of play and reduced production in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. You cannot question his elite level of greatness, nor his standing in Rangers history.

Enjoy him while we can.

New York Rangers news and analysis​

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Here are the key Rangers takeaways from that 4-2 loss to the Kraken at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

Boy, the Rangers sure looked lost afterward, struggling to find answers for their latest loss. Our John Kreiser breaks down the postgame reactions.

Kaapo Kakko and Ryan Lindgren had mostly really good things to say about their respective time with the Rangers, ahead of their first game back at MSG after the Blueshirts traded each player away last season.

Already off to a poor start this week, the Rangers have important upcoming games scheduled against Eastern Conference opponents before the week is over.

Sportsnet: Former Rangers bench boss Gerard Gallant stepped down as coach of the Shanghai Dragons in the KHL due to health reasons.

NHL news and rumors​

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The Athletic ($$): Aaron Portzline analyzes why the Columbus Blue Jackets fired coach Dean Evason at this point of the season and replaced him with Rick Bowness.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Amid trade rumors and recent healthy scratch, Dougie Hamilton played a helluva game Monday, helping the Devils skate past the Minnesota Wild 5-2.

Philly Hockey Now: William James breaks down the trade market for Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.

Daily Faceoff: Reports surfaced that Vegas Golden Knights forward William Karlsson won’t return from his lower-body injury after the Olympic break in late February, and there’s a chance his season could be over if he requires surgery.

Sportsnet: Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube stated that injured goalie Anthony Stolarz may return before the Olympic break. Stolarz last played Nov. 11, when he sustained an upper-body injury.

TSN: Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point sustained a lower-body injury and left their 5-1 road win over the Flyers in the second period.

Sportsnet: The Detroit Red Wings retired Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91, a well-deserved and long overdue honor.

Detroit Hockey Now: Bob Duff has more on the timing of Fedorov’s jersey retirement in Detroit.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...eciating-artemi-panarin-before-possible-trade

 

[Zedster]

Man, this is rough to watch. As someone who's followed hockey for years, seeing the Rangers spiral like this is painful even from a neutral perspective.

That 10-2 loss in Boston was legitimately one of the worst performances I've seen from any NHL team in recent memory. When Ray Ferraro is calling you "hopeless" on national TV, you know things have gone completely sideways. And then following it up with that 4-2 loss to Seattle where they couldn't hold a 2-0 lead... it's like watching a team that's mentally broken.

The Zibanejad quote about being "fragile" really stood out to me. That's a pretty candid admission from a veteran player, and it speaks to where this team's headspace is right now. When you're looking around for someone else to solve the problem instead of taking ownership, you're in trouble.

A few observations:

The Miller situation is tough. The guy clearly cares deeply - maybe too much. Zero shot attempts against Seattle is concerning for your captain, and you can see the weight of this season crushing him in those postgame pressers. Sometimes that C can feel like an anchor instead of a badge.

Panarin hitting 600 points faster than anyone in franchise history is genuinely impressive, but the timing feels bittersweet. Hard to imagine he finishes the season in New York given where things are headed and that trade deadline looming.

The home record (5-12-4) is absolutely brutal. MSG should be a fortress, not a place where teams come to collect easy points.

At 20-21-6, needing 44 points in 36 games to hit 90... that's a tall order for a team playing like this. The Ottawa game tomorrow feels pretty important - two struggling teams that both desperately need a win.

 

[New York Rangers]

Why reeling Rangers can’t rely on reinforcements any time soon

It appears that what you see is what you get with the New York Rangers’ banged-up roster. Barring any unforeseen trades, the Rangers can’t rely on any of their injured players returning in the near future.

Coach Mike Sullivan said none of a group of injured Rangers, including goalie Igor Shesterkin, defenseman Adam Fox, and forwards Adam Edstrom and Conor Sheary, resumed skating yet.

When pressed with a follow-up question about whether anyone from that group could get back on the ice anytime soon — say in the next week or two — he was non-committal but didn’t sound optimistic.

“I’d have to check on more specific details because I’m not exactly privy to exactly when they’re going on the ice, but I think they’re a little bit further away,” Sullivan said Tuesday after practice.

Though not framed as such, this appeared to be more a question about Shesterkin, since he’s the only one of those four players not on long-term injured reserve. The 30-year-old goalie landed on IR with a scary-looking lower-body injury last week and is eligible to be activated Wednesday. Of course, no one expected that he’d return that soon, but Sullivan’s comments made it clear Shesterkin is still a ways off, even he’s if not on LTIR.

Though not unexpected, that isn’t great news for the Rangers (20-21-6). They’re on a four-game losing streak (0-3-1), including 3-2 in overtime to the Utah Mammoth last Monday, when Shesterkin departed in the first period. New York owns the worst points percentage in the 16-team Eastern Conference and is in danger of dropping out of the playoff race sooner rather than later.

In the past three games with Jonathan Quick starting, the Rangers allowed 19 goals, including 10 in an embarrassing loss to the Boston Bruins this past weekend. Sullivan pulled Quick after he allowed six goals in that one, and journeyman backup Spencer Martin surrendered the final four goals.

With Quick turning 40 this month and Shesterkin’s return not on the near horizon, Sullivan admitted that managing the veteran goalie’s workload is a concern.

“It’s just another challenge,” the coach explained. “I’ve talked with ‘Quickie’ about what our intentions are here going through this process. And he’s really embraced the challenge in front of him. … We’re going to feel this out, some of it’s going to be intuition with what we see. We want to set Quickie up for success, and we don’t want to give him a workload where it becomes diminishing returns and you get a lesser version of the player because of it. That’s something we’re going to have to watch.”

Rangers trying to overcome injuries to key players​

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

As for the other injured Rangers, Fox has a lower-body injury and isn’t eligible to come off LTIR until the end of January; Edstrom remains out with a lower-body injury sustained in late November; and Sheary was seen on crutches at the 2026 Winter Classic after he sustained a lower-body injury against the Washington Capitals on New Year’s Eve.

In addition, the Rangers scratched Matt Rempe for their 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Monday because his thumb didn’t fully heal before he returned from LTIR on Dec. 15, and it’s affected his play on the ice.

Captain J.T. Miller doesn’t look 100 percent either after he recently returned from a seven-game injury absence — and it didn’t help that he got steamrolled in an accidental collision with teammate Braden Schneider on Monday.

“These guys want to play, they want to be in the lineup,” Sullivan explained. “The challenge is, when guys are working through injuries like that, is to figure out where they’re at and whether they can make an impact in a positive way.”

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/injury-update-no-timeline-igor-shesterkin

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers vs. Senators: Lineups, storylines trying to end 4-game skid

The game Wednesday between the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden is one where each team sees an opportunity to take advantage of a struggling opponent.

The Rangers (20-21-6) are on a four-game skid (0-3-1) and sit dead last in the Eastern Conference with the fewest points (46) and worst points percentage (.489) of all 16 teams. However, the Senators (21-19-5) are 3-6-1 in their past 10 games, and lost four in a row before a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks at home Tuesday. Ottawa is one point ahead of New York, with two games in hand.

So, this is not only an important game within the conference for the Rangers and Senators, but one each team likely believes they should win.

The Rangers come off a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken at MSG on Monday. They stormed out of the gates, scoring twice in the opening six minutes, before finishing with a whimper offensively. They were out-shot 20-11 and out-scored 4-0 in the final 40 minutes. In the third period, New York had a sickly 13.85 percent expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick.

“So, I think we did a lot of good things last game, but at the end of the day it’s about getting the wins. At some point here, things have got to turn around for us and we’ve got to start bagging some points,” veteran center Sam Carrick said Tuesday after practice.

It’d behoove the Rangers to do so against the Senators, who are one of the many teams currently standing between them and a wild-card spot in the conference. Already in this current skid, the Rangers blew opportunities to take two points from teams slightly ahead of them in the East, losing to the Buffalo Sabres and getting destroyed 10-2 by the Boston Bruins last weekend.

Perhaps, it’ll be a different story against the Senators. The Rangers have points in six straight games against them (5-0-1), including a 4-2 road win on Dec. 4.

“I think Ottawa’s been one of the better teams in the League as far as playing stingy defense. They’re well structured, they’re well coached,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said following the morning skate. “So, we’re going to have to work for every opportunity we get out there. We’re going to have to make sure we make them work for the same.”

3 storylines when Rangers host Senators​

Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

1. Latest Jonathan Quick milestone​

Jonathan Quick makes his season-high fourth straight start Wednesday, each since Igor Shesterkin landed on IR with a lower-body injury last week. It’ll also be his 800th start in the NHL, just the latest milestone for the future Hall-of-Famer.

What Quick wants more than anything is to get a win against the Senators, and not just because a loss would be the 300th of his NHL career. Not only hasn’t Quick led the Rangers to a victory since Shesterkin’s injury, he’s winless since Nov. 7, a stretch of 10 appearances and nine starts (0-8-2). The last time Quick allowed fewer than three goals was Dec. 21, and his save percentage just dropped below .900 (.898) for the first time this season.

“That’s where my focus is: How can I make another save or two a game to help this team get over the hump? That’s what I’ll be thinking about,” Quick answered when asked about his mindset ahead of the game Wednesday.

2. Weakness vs. weakness​

Despite Sullivan’s rave reviews about Ottawa’s defensive play, the Senators are a mess in their last line of defense. They allow 3.31 goals against per game, sixth worst in the NHL. That’s because their goaltending simply hasn’t been good enough and remains the biggest reason why the Senators aren’t in a playoff spot.

Ottawa’s No. 1 goalie Linus Ullmark currently is away from the team for personal reasons. However, even when the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner played this season, he wasn’t very good, with a 2.95 goals-against average and .881 save percentage. Leevi Merilainen started nine games in a row, and stopped 19 of 20 shots Tuesday night. But recently-signed veteran James Reimer might make his Senators debut and start against the Rangers on Wednesday.

Either way, this looks like a good chance for the Rangers to score some goals. New York is 30th in the League, scoring 2.55 goals per game.

Someone’s weakness here should be exposed and likely help decide the outcome.

3. Mika and Bread​

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Sullivan discussed line juggling and trying to find the best fits with New York’s forward group game-in, game-out. In answering how he goes about making those decisions, Sullivan pointed out that he’s kept Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin — two “cerebral players” in his words — on the same line for quite awhile now, and mixed and matched on their right wing.

He added that there’s no reason to break those two up right now. And he’s spot on there. Zibanejad carries a six-game point streak (six goals, six assists) and team-leading 18 goals into this game. Panarin has assists in seven straight games (two goals, 10 assists), and leads the Rangers with 50 points in 46 games.

Zibanejad has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 20 games all-time against his former team, including a goal back on Dec. 4. Panarin has 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in 26 games against the Senators, including a goal and an assist in the first meeting this season.

New York Rangers projected lineup​

Artemi Panarin — Mika Zibanejad — Will Cuylle

J.T. Miller — Vincent Trocheck — Gabe Perreault

Brennan Othmann — Noah Laba — Alexis Lafreniere

Jonny Brodzinski — Sam Carrick –Taylor Raddysh

Vladislav Gavrikov — Braden Schneider

Carson Soucy – Scott Morrow

Matthew Robertson – Will Borgen

Jonathan Quick

Spencer Martin

Rangers vs. Senators: When, where, what time, how to watch​

Who: New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators

When: Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Where: Madison Square Garden

How to watch: MSG

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...ors-preview-storylines-try-end-four-game-skid

 

[New York Rangers]

Jonathan Quick pulled again in Rangers’ 8-4 loss to Senators: takeaways

The good news for the home team Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden was that Gabe Perreault recorded the first two-goal game of his NHL career. The bad news is that the New York Rangers already were losing 6-0 by time their prized rookie found the back of the net, and ended up on the wrong side of a 8-4 final against the Ottawa Senators.

The loss extended their current skid to five games (0-4-1) and dropped the Rangers (20-22-6) to two games under the NHL version of .500. They’re last in the Eastern Conference and remain stuck on five wins at MSG this season (5-13-4).

For the second time in three games, Jonathan Quick didn’t finish what he started. The future Hall-of-Famer got the hook in the second period, after allowing six goals on 17 shots. He also was pulled in the second period Saturday in Boston after surrendering six goals in a 10-2 loss to the Bruins.

The Sens score their 6th goal on 17 shots and Jonathan Quick gets yanked in his 800th NHL start pic.twitter.com/iJLwJbkSCE

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 15, 2026

Mika Zibanejad assisted on each of Perreault’s goals, and extended his point streak to seven games (six goals, eight assists). Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and an assist, and Noah Laba added a power-play goal in the third period, when the Rangers scored three times.

Brady Tkachuk recorded four points for the Senators, who had eight different goal scorers in this one. Dylan Cozens (one goal, two assists) and Ridly Greig (three assists) each finished with three points. Goaltender Leevi Merilainen stopped 18 of 22 shots, one night after leading Ottawa to a 2-1 win at home over the Vancouver Canucks.

The first period was an absolute horror show for the Rangers, who were booed off the ice trailing 4-0 after 20 minutes of play. They spent nearly the entire period defending — poorly — in their own end, and had only one scoring chance against the Senators, who held a whopping 84.29 percent expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick.

The boo birds are LOUD at MSG for the Rangers pic.twitter.com/OrqQ1aCtlf

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 15, 2026

The dye was cast 1:33 into the game, when Vincent Trocheck took a senseless holding penalty in the offensive zone. It wasn’t much of a surprise the way things are going for the Rangers that the Senators quickly cashed in with a power-play goal at 2:18. Quick made the initial save on Cozens’ shot, but the puck leaked through his pads, and the unchecked Drake Batherson slammed it into the back of the net.

Bad play by the Rangers was followed by bad luck at 4:53, when Nick Jensen’s right-point shot hit Braden Schneider’s skate blade in front and caromed into the cage to make it 2-0 Ottawa.

For the record, the first loud, extended boos from the Blueshirts Faithful rained down on the home team a bit under six minutes into the game, when the Rangers lost a series of puck battles and simply couldn’t exit their defensive zone.

There were more to come, though. Ottawa upped its lead to 3-0 at 15:01, when Tkachuk scored his 200th NHL goal off an odd-man rush and right-wing snipe that beat Quick to the far side. Schneider got caught deep in the offensive zone, allowing the Senators to break out 2-on-1 after Vladislav Gavrikov’s shot was blocked.

That the Rangers allowed one more goal with 5.7 seconds remaining following another poor sequence defensively was a fitting capper to a simply atrocious first period. This time, Cozens was left all alone between the circles and beat Quick stick side to put the Rangers in a 4-0 hole.

THE CAPTAIN AND COZENS JOIN IN ON THE FUN

It's 4-0 for the @Senators here after the opening 20!

: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/KLHskJnqmU

— NHL (@NHL) January 15, 2026

For those counting at home, that was four goals on 14 shots for the Senators. They added another two on their first three shots of the second period to knock Quick out of the game. Jake Sanderson hammered a rising shot over Quick’s glove at 5:57, before Thomas Chabot snuck a long shot past Quick’s blocker at 12:23 to make it 6-0.

Spencer Martin replaced Quick at that point and received loud applause when he stopped the first shot he faced. There were more cheers for the journeyman goalie after his quick outlet pass to Zibanejad started a rush up ice that led to Perreault’s first goal of the night at 18:55.

The rookie forward scored again at 5:26 of the third period to make it 6-2. He finished off a 2-on-1 with Zibanejad with a pretty forehand-backhand finish when driving to the net.

After David Perron banked a bad-angle shot off Martin and over the goal line, Laba’s power-play deflection made it 7-3 at 10:44. Five minutes later Lafreniere scored his 10th goal of the season, but with Martin pulled for the extra attacker, Ottawa closed this one out with Tim Stutzle’s empty-net goal at 19:11.

Gabe Perreault scores his second NHL goal to make it 6-1 pic.twitter.com/mUNO4aUHRz

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 15, 2026

Key takeaways after Rangers lose 8-4 to Senators​

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

No Igor, big problem​

Including the game he got hurt, the Rangers are 0-4-1 since Igor Shesterkin was helped off the ice due to a lower-body injury in the first period against the Utah Mammoth nine days ago. They’ve been out-scored 30-12 in those five games, three times allowing at least five goals. Their defensive structure, a strength and source of pride earlier in the season, has cratered and simply stinks right now.

So, not all the blame falls on Quick. But he hasn’t been nearly good enough either. It was just a couple of weeks ago that Quick was among the League leaders in save percentage and goals-against average for goalies who started at least 10 games. But since stepping in for the injured No. 1, Quick looks every bit like the 40-year-old he’ll be next week.

In the bigger picture, the Rangers only won three games not started by Shesterkin this season, the most recent on Nov. 7. Though Quick could’ve sued for lack of support there for a while, he’s winless in his past 11 decisions (0-9-2) since early November.

Might Dylan Garand get the call-up from Hartford of the American Hockey League to make his first NHL start Saturday in Philly against the Flyers? Just putting that out there.

Change of plans​

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Mere hours after coach Mike Sullivan explained after the morning skate that there was no reason to break up Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin on the same line, he did just that after the Rangers fell behind 2-0 less than five minutes into the game Wednesday.

Sullivan reunited Peter Laviolette’s favorite line combination — Panarin with Trocheck and Lafreniere — and moved Zibanejad alongside Perreault and J.T. Miller. The idea clearly was to spread the wealth offensively, since Nos. 93 and 10 are just about the only Rangers consistently on the score sheet. Will Cuylle moved to the third line with Laba and Brennan Othmann.

Positive results weren’t immediate, but they did come later on after the Senators took their foot off the gas. Let’s see if Sullivan keeps Perreault and Zibanejad on the same line after the rookie broke out against the Senators.

Gabe’s breakout​

Speaking of Perreault, good on him to draw something positive out of this game. He had one goal in 14 games this season — and one in 19 NHL games dating back to last spring — and limited scoring chances recently with the Rangers. But he scored a pair of beauties Wednesday, showing off those high-end offensive skills we’ve all been waiting for.

Gabe Perreault scores his second NHL goal to make it 6-1 pic.twitter.com/mUNO4aUHRz

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 15, 2026

The silky mitts were on display on his first goal; and there was even more of his skill set showed off on his second of the game. Now let’s see if he can carry that forward with some renewed confidence.

Gabe Perreault's second goal of the night pic.twitter.com/dBQ26T3Vso

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 15, 2026

Lipstick on a pig​

As much as you love to see Perreault finally break through and Laba also find the back of the net, it’s difficult to get behind Miller’s postgame commentary: “Bad first period. We responded. Played pretty well after that.”

The captain understood how that first period buried them, but doubled down on his first take.

“No shit. We’d like to not be down 4-0 after the first but after that we responded well. Played with some pride.”

He even contended that the Rangers “out-played them” after the first period. Of course, we know Miller’s just searching for positives on another crappy night. But … yeesh.

Scoring four goals and losing 8-4 is better than what we saw in that embarrassment up in Boston. But it also brings to mind that old phrase about putting lipstick on a pig.

‘Nuf said.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...cap-loss-senators-jonathan-quick-pulled-again

 

[New York Rangers]

‘They are being tested’: Rangers must regroup after latest blowout loss

The New York Rangers struggled during the first half of the season because they couldn’t score. They’re struggling now because they can’t stop their opponents from filling the net.

The Blueshirts’ post-Winter Classic losing streak reached five games when they were embarrassed 8-4 by the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. The game wasn’t nearly as close as the final score might indicate; Ottawa led 4-0 after one period and 6-0 late in the second before Gabe Perreault scored the first of his two goals.

They got within 7-4 late in the third with three garbage-time goals against the team with the League’s lowest save percentage before Tim Stutzle hit the empty net with 49 seconds left.

Ottawa, which ended a four-game losing streak by defeating the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 on Tuesday, toyed with the Rangers for most of the night.

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

“As a team, where do you go from here?” Henrik Lundqvist asked rhetorically on the MSG postgame studio show after the Rangers’ fourth straight regulation loss, when they’ve been outscored 27-10. “They are being tested right now.”

It’s also tough to pass any tests when you’re not ready to play and the other team is.

Vincent Trocheck took a needless holding penalty in the offensive zone at 1:33 and Drake Batherson scored a power-play goal 45 seconds later. Nick Jensen’s shot went into the net off Braden Schneider’s skate at 4:53. Brady Tkachuk beat Jonathan Quick on a 2-on-1 at 15:01 after Schneider wandered into the offensive zone and got caught, and Dylan Cozens made it 4-0 with six seconds left.

BRADY TKACHUK SNIPES HOME GOAL NO. 200 OF HIS CAREER pic.twitter.com/35ab7FatNA

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 15, 2026

“We just dig ourselves a hole,” center Mika Zibanejad said. “It’s tough enough to win as it is in this League. You spot the other team four goals, you’re not making it much easier.”

The Rangers spent the period failing to execute, losing puck battles and playing like a group that didn’t give a crap.

“Early on this season, we lost games, but I thought the effort was there,” Zibanejad said. “I’m not saying the effort (isn’t there now), but our game isn’t. I thought we played better (and) we deserved better early on, but right now, we don’t. And that’s a tough pill to swallow.”

Rangers earn boos from Garden fans during 8-4 loss to Senators​

The crowd of 17,776 wasted little time showing the Rangers what they thought of their efforts. The boos began in the first period and continued on and off for the rest of the night. As did the “Fire Drury!” chants aimed at embattled general manager Chris Drury.

Two second-period goals made it 6-0 and ended Quick’s night. The loss was his 11th in a row (0-9-2) and the second time in three games that he was lifted after allowing six goals in less than two periods. Spencer Martin finished up, just as he did in the 10-2 road loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

Another game, another loss – though captain J.T. Miller seemed to minimize allowing eight goals to another struggling team in his postgame comments.

“Bad first period,” he said. “”They were more ready to play. We’d like to not be down 4-0 after the first but after that we responded well. Played with some pride.

“We responded. Played pretty well after that.”

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Sorry J.T — by then, it didn’t matter. The outcome had long since been decided.

Coach Mike Sullivan recognizes that the group effort his team showed for most of the first half of the season is missing.

“I think for the first part of the season, a fair number of games, I think we were a pretty stingy team with that collective effort, especially on the defensive side of the puck. I think we’ve lost a little bit of that just attention to detail and just collective play, cooperative play as a group. It’s a whole lot more difficult to beat collective effort than it is to beat isolated effort.

“I think we’re not quite connected like we were, and that’s what we’ve got to get back to.”

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

So does he want to see more anger from his players? More spirit? More teamwork? Yes, yes and yes.

“We’ve gone through a rash of emotions,” he said postgame. “There’s been tons of anger. We’ve run through the gamut of emotions here trying to right this thing and get it going in the right direction. We’ll continue to try to solve it. There’s no easy answers.

“We’ve got to work hard. We’ve got to work together. We’ve got to stick together. We’ve got to stay together and we’ve got to compete together. That’s what we’re going to do.”

Sullivan has some big decisions to make in goal. Quick’s excellent start to the season is a distant memory. Martin is a journeyman who got the callup when Igor Shesterkin went down with a lower-body injury on Jan. 5, with the Rangers opting to keep 23-year-old Dylan Garand at AHL Hartford rather than serving as Quick’s backup.

But Quick, who turns 40 next Wednesday, doesn’t look like a goalie who can carry a starter’s load – and Shesterkin’s return is nowhere in sight. Perhaps Garand gets the call for his NHL debut sometime soon.

The Rangers have less than 40 hours from the final buzzer of their loss to the Sens before the opening face-off of their game against the Flyers in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon. Then it’s off to the airport for a three-game trip to California that begins with a back-to-back against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday and the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

No matter who’s in goal, the outcome will be the same unless the rest of the team shows a lot more energy and passion than they have in the past five games.

“We have to turn the desperation, we have to turn that into energy,” Zibanejad said. “We have to turn whatever we’re feeling into some sort of energy.”

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/must-regroup-again-latest-blowout-loss

 

[JJ]

OH MAN this is absolutely BEAUTIFUL to watch as a Sabres fan, I'm not gonna lie!!

Look, I feel for you Rangers fans, I really do - we've been living in the basement for over a decade so I KNOW what pain looks like. But watching the Rags implode like this at MSG? That's just *chef's kiss* for a division rival.

That said, let me be real here - this is genuinely one of the more spectacular collapses I've seen from a team that was supposed to be a contender. 8-4 to the SENATORS?? The same Senators team that couldn't stop a beach ball all season?? And Miller's postgame comments about "responding well" after going down 6-0... brother, WHAT are you talking about?? That's some serious delusion right there.

The goaltending situation is an absolute DISASTER. Quick is cooked - love the guy's career and all but he's turning 40 and just got pulled TWICE in three games after giving up six goals. You can't run a 40-year-old into the ground like this and expect anything different. Honestly, call up Garand already - what do you have to lose at this point?? You're LAST in the East!

And those "Fire Drury" chants at MSG?? That's gotta sting. When your own building is turning on management like that, you know the vibes are absolutely RANCID.

The Panarin trade deadline speculation is gonna be WILD. No way he finishes the year there if this keeps up.

At least Perreault showed something! Kid's got hands.

 

[New York Rangers]

How Rangers rookies show they can be silver lining in humiliating season

The way things are trending for the New York Rangers, there won’t be many positives to take away from their 2025-26 season.

Four days removed from a 10-2 rout by the Bruins in Boston, the Rangers (20-22-6) suffered another lopsided defeat, falling 8-4 to the Ottawa Senators on Madison Square Garden ice Wednesday. New York’s fifth-straight loss (0-4-1) continued its descent down the NHL standings; the Rangers are now last in the Eastern Conference (46 points) and fifth-worst in the League with a .479 points percentage.

The Rangers have just two regulation wins in their past 19 games. They’ve commemorated their centennial season with a grand total of five home wins in 22 games at MSG. It’s the second consecutive season when they hit the skids due to an amalgam of poor confidence, poor energy, and poor execution. And with seven major contracts already on the books until 2028-29, they’re not in the best position to blow everything up and embrace a full rebuild.

Simply put, there’s little reason to believe better days await in the near future.

But if there is any hope to cling onto, you’d be advised to look in the direction of two rookie forwards — Gabe Perreault and Noah Laba.

Perreault recorded the first multi-goal game of his young NHL career against the Senators, showcasing his offensive prowess with a pair of slick finishes.

The 2023 first-rounder (No. 23 overall) notched his first goal in 11 games, cashing in on a give-and-go from J.T. Miller with a silky backhander that beat Senators goalie Leevi Merilainen five-hole late in the second period. He scored again in the third period, this time utilizing a forehand-backhand deke to convert on the rush.

If there's any silver lining, Gabe Perreault looks like he's on FIRE

2 goals tonight pic.twitter.com/RbB2J7dg0C

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 15, 2026

Laba joined him on the score sheet not long after, deflecting Alexis Lafreniere’s power-play shot into the net for his sixth goal this season.

The rookies accounted for three of New York’s four tallies Wednesday, although that’s little consolation in another humiliating defeat.

“Obviously, it’s nice to get one, but at the end of the day, we lost, so it doesn’t really matter,” Perreault stated postgame.

When isolating the game itself, Perreault’s perspective rings true. By the time he ended Ottawa’s shutout bid at 18:55 of the second period, the Rangers were already trailing 6-0. And though a three-goal third period perhaps provided a better finish, it fell well short of altering the final result — another lopsided Blueshirts loss.

Gabe Perreault showed Rangers glimpse of the offensive star he can be in NHL​

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Through the longer lens of a failed Rangers season, though, a successful day from Perreault and Laba is fairly meaningful. In fact, it’s one of the few silver linings the organization can get excited about.

New York is tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the most games played in the NHL at 48. As long as Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox remain sidelined, it’s hard to picture a turnaround of any significance, especially considering the hole they’ve already dug themselves.

That sobering reality reframes this season’s objective. Instead of pushing to contend by the March 6 trade deadline, New York is best served prioritizing next year and beyond. That should include expanded playing opportunities for rookies and developing young players — particularly Perreault.

On Wednesday, early in-game line shuffling by coach Mike Sullivan resulted in Perreault joining Miller and Mika Zibanejad. It ended up being New York’s best line. Miller and Zibanejad assisted on both of Perreault’s tallies, and the trio posted a team-high 67.09 expected-goals-for percentage at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick.

“I think we had some good chances overall,” Perreault noted. “Obviously, it sucked we were down that much, but I think we definitely showed some signs at the end there.”

“Obviously, I liked it,” Sullivan affirmed when asked about the line. “We stuck with it. He scores a couple of goals. But I thought the line played well from the time we made the switch.”

Perhaps Perreault gets more consistent playing time in the top six. It’s not an easy role for a rookie, particularly under Sullivan, who prioritizes capable defensive play. Still, Perreault hasn’t looked overmatched since his latest recall from Hartford of the American Hockey League, and it’s encouraging to see him flash his offensive talents after some spotty production.

The Rangers’ current standing in the playoff picture should be even more incentive to use the talented kid in a larger role. As long as Perreault proves he can hold his own and play responsible hockey, he’ll only benefit from more time in the top six and increased reps against more challenging defensive matchups.

What to expect from Rangers rookies as season progresses​

Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

An expanded role for Perreault shouldn’t necessarily come with expanded expectations — at least in terms of point production.

His two-goal outburst was an encouraging sign from a young player who had scored just once in his first 19 NHL games. And perhaps it’s just the confidence boost he needs moving forward.

Gabe Perreault's second goal of the night pic.twitter.com/dBQ26T3Vso

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 15, 2026

Then again, it’s fair to expect some inconsistency from a rookie less than a year removed from playing at Boston College.

“I think it definitely will be good for my confidence,” Perreault acknowledged. “But like I said, I gotta find a way to help the team win in any way, and hopefully I can do that here.”

It’s nice if he shows up on the score sheet, but Perreault’s 2025-26 season in the NHL shouldn’t be evaluated solely by his final points tally. There’s a lot of good that can come simply from taking on increased responsibilities, even if the results aren’t there immediately — though it is nice that he produced earlier this season in the minors and was named to the AHL All-Star Classic.

Hey Gabe, you're an All-Star pic.twitter.com/OL0qvDZTGQ

— Hartford Wolf Pack (@HWPHockey) January 15, 2026

There’s a world where general manager Chris Drury opts to part with some of his more movable pieces ahead of the trade deadline — say Artemi Panarin or Vincent Trocheck, for instance. That could open up more playing time for Perreault, and maybe even a spot on the top power-play unit.

Expectations should be tempered even more-so for Laba, who still realistically projects as a third-line center at this point. Laba injects much-needed youth and speed into this aging Rangers lineup, but it’s far from a catastrophe if the 22-year-old doesn’t exceed bottom-six minutes this season.

Laba averages 13:19 TOI and has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 45 games. He’s also won an impressive 51.7 percent of his face-offs and been a responsible 200-foot player. He’s mature beyond his years.

Noah Laba – New York Rangers (6)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/FHtIpqDCTX

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) January 15, 2026

Rookie defenseman Scott Morrow assisted on Laba’s goal, and should see even more power-play time moving forward, to let him play to his strengths in the NHL — at least until Fox returns from LTIR. The 23-year-old has four assists in 20 games with the Rangers, and appears to only now be playing with more confidence.

He could head back to Hartford when Fox returns, as long as the other right-shot d-men — Braden Schneider and Will Borgen remain healthy. His path to regular playing time is murkier than Perreault and Laba.

But even if this season swirls down the drain for the Rangers, the silver lining remains the kids, who appear ready to take on more responsibility now and in the future.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/rookies-silver-lining-perreault-laba-morrow

 

[New York Rangers]

As Rangers trade rumors swirl, Artemi Panarin ‘OK with whatever happens’

It’s not exactly breaking news that the New York Rangers face a major decision about what to do with star forward Artemi Panarin, who’s a pending unrestricted free agent at season’s end. The clock is ticking on the Rangers to either sign Panarin to a contract extension, trade him ahead of the March 6 deadline, or keep him with hopes of getting a deal done this coming off-season.

That final option appears least likely considering the massive risk of him walking away for nothing. And to what end? So, that the last-place Rangers (20-22-6) could somehow remain withing spitting distance of a playoff berth this season?

So, let’s assume an extension or trade is much more of a likely outcome.

Panarin doesn’t say much publicly about his future, but apparently he’s at peace no matter the next step.

“He told me he’s OK with whatever happens,” Rangers beat reporter Colin Stepehenson told Forever Blueshirts on the latest RINK RAP podcast.

That wasn’t always the case. Panarin’s shown little outward desire to leave the Rangers. But earlier in the season, Panarin reportedly rejected a team-friendly extension offer, and word was that he didn’t plan on handing out any hometown discount to the Rangers.

“He got off to a slow start and admitted that a couple factors played into that. Number one: he was injured in training camp and did not play in a preseason game. But he also was worried thinking too much about other things, meaning the contract negotiations,” Stephenson explained. “But then he said he got over it. He’s past that.

“So, I looked in his eye and feel like he’s fine with leaving. But obviously he has a full no-move [clause], so he has control over it. So, if you’re sending him somewhere he wants to go, I think he’s OK with it.”

Easier said than done, of course. Trading Panarin means having him waive his no-move clause, limiting the amount of potential suitors. Plus, there aren’t many (if any) true Stanley Cup contenders with the available salary cap space to add Panarin’s massive $11.643 million annual charge. So, salary retention is a must for the Rangers, and a third team to further knock down the cap hit is likely required to get a trade done.

That’s a tough needle to thread for Rangers general manager Chris Drury, though not impossible. Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand, and Claude Giroux are recent examples of star players with high salaries moved ahead of the trade deadline.

Of course, we shouldn’t overlook the possibility that the Rangers prefer to find a way to work out an extension and keep their leading scorer in the Blueshirt. That’s not out of the question, though they’d have to ante up to sign Panarin, who’s getting closer by the day to an open market where, arguably, he’s the most attractive player.

Darren Dreger reported on TSN’s Insider Trading segment that the Rangers hope to have clarity on which direction they’re going with Panarin by the Feb. 6 NHL roster freeze for the Winter Olympics.

‘What’s your plan for next year’ if Rangers don’t bring back Artemi Panarin?​

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

There are so many things in play here. Panarin’s age is one; he’ll be 35 at the start of next season. Another is that the Rangers don’t look the part of a playoff team, much less Stanley Cup contender. Plus, they’re an older team with very little in the prospects pipeline.

Parting ways with Panarin comes with risk, though. Since signing with the Rangers ahead of the 2019-20 season, only four NHL players have more points than Panarin’s 601: Connor McDavid (792), Leon Draisaitl (711), Nathan MacKinnon (694), and David Pastrnak (606). Panarin reached 600 points faster (476 games) than any player in Rangers history; and his 120 points in 2023-24 are second most in franchise history.

Simply, there’s much to appreciate about Panarin, who led the Rangers in scoring every season since signing with them. His 51 points in 47 games are again a team-high this season.

“My question, though, and my moment of pause would be what’s your plan for next year? Because right now this guy drives offense for you. He’s always your leading scorer. What do you look like if he’s not on your team? Like, who picks up that mantle?,” Stephenson put out there on the podcast.

“Presumably if you’re not going to re-sign him, who are you going to sign that’s going to get you a point a game, or 90 points in a season, or score 25 goals an set up all those other goals that Panarin does? Connor McDavid re-signed with his team. Jack Eichel re-signed with his team. Kirill Kaprizov re-signed with his team. I don’t know that there’s someone out there on the free-agent market that you could sign that will replace what Panarin gives you.”

The Rangers have plenty of salary-cap space this coming off-season, but, as Stephenson pointed out, no real superstar in free agency to pony up for. Outside of Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch, Panarin is the most attractive UFA.

That leaves the trade market as a way to find scoring help. But the Rangers really don’t have a host of attractive assets — other than their pair of first-round draft picks in the 2026 draft. That leaves a lot of pressure on the remaining core, especially talented 20-year-old Gabe Perreault.

Remember, even with Panarin, the Rangers are 30th in the NHL this season, scoring 2.58 goals per game.

“That’s why all these people who are like Trade Panarin, Trade Panarin, it’s not quite that easy because if you have visions of a retool as opposed to a full-strength rebuild then you need to replace him somehow and I just don’t know how you do that.”

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...ade-rumors-artemi-panarin-ok-whatever-happens

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers vs. Flyers: Lineups, storylines for 1st game after The Letter 2.0

Roughly 24 hours after the New York Rangers publicly announced a retool, including plans for a roster makeover, they begin a four-game road trip with a Saturday matinee against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

It appeared to be a strategically-timed announcement, since the Rangers are getting away and won’t play again at Madison Square Garden — where they own an abysmal 5-13-4 record — until Jan. 26. That gives the players — and fans — time to adjust to the letter from general manager Chris Drury which outlined the organization’s plan to change course and focus on the future rather than the present, basically raising a white flag on this massively disappointing season.

The Rangers (20-22-6) are on a five-game skid (0-4-1) and reside in the Eastern Conference cellar — which rhymes with seller, exactly what the Blueshirts intend to be ahead of the March 6 NHL trade deadline. They’ve allowed 30 goals in their past five games, coinciding with the dual injuries sustained by No. 1 goalie Igor Shesterkin and top defenseman Adam Fox.

Their defensive structure, a bright spot early in the season, cratered the past two weeks, after showing concerning signs the prior month or so. The latest example of poor defensive play and subpar goaltending took place Wednesday during an 8-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators at MSG.

“We’ve gotten away from that [sound structure defensively] a little bit, we’ve lost our swagger a little bit,” noted coach Mike Sullivan, who spoke before the Rangers posted Drury’s letter on social media Friday.

Maybe they can recapture a better vibe getting out of New York. Especially down in Philly, playing against a division rival that’s also limping along right now. The Flyers (22-16-8) are also 0-4-1 in their past five games; and they allowed 23 goals the past four games. Sound familiar?

To make it even more of a coincidence, Philadelphia’s also without its No. 1 netminder. Dan Vladar is out with an unspecified injury sustained in a 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. They followed that up with a 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. Sam Ersson started, allowed three goals on 14 shots, and was pulled in favor of Aleksei Kolosov.

So, it’s not a battle of the titans Saturday. But definitely one between teams desperate for two points.

“It’s going to be a fun environment, always love going to play there, afternoon game too,” Rangers captain J.T. Miller said Friday after practice. “Some time on the road with the guys right now is good for us.”

3 storylines when Rangers visit Flyers​

Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

How will Rangers react?​

Drury met with the entire team Friday before the public announcement. We won’t know exactly how the players will react to this news, or how unsettling it might be for those likely on the trade block. One thing is for sure, the Rangers can’t play much worse than they did recently.

And who knows, maybe this decision by management lifts pressure off the Rangers and allows them to play more freely. It could be a liberating thing. But then again, it could be an absolute disaster as the season progresses and the roster is torn apart. Time will tell.

Keep an eye on Artemi Panarin. The Rangers informed Panarin that they won’t extend a contract extension offer to him, and will work closely with the pending unrestricted free agent on a trade, since he has a complete no-move clause and must waive it to be sent anywhere.

Panarin leads the Rangers with 51 points (16 goals, 35 assists) in 47 games, and carries an eight-game point streak into Saturday. He’s led them in scoring six straight seasons, has 601 points since signing with the Rangers ahead of the 2019-20 season. So, it’ll be easy to spot if he’s not engaged or appears distracted by his situation.

‘All about our starts’​

Let’s see if a fire is lit under the Rangers, either from their horrendous start against the Senators, when they fell behind 6-0, or from The Letter 2.0. A fast start certainly would be nice. For the Rangers, it usually means good things. The Rangers are 16-4-2 when scoring first this season and 12-1-0 when leading after the first period.

Why’s that Jonny Brodzinski?

“Sometimes when you get down early, it’s harder to play that type game because you’re pressing a little bit more. So, I think it’s all about our starts now, getting ahead of teams so that we can play that simpler game. Letting teams come to us, we play our game, instead of us get out of our style of play,” the veteran forward explained.

But here’s a word of caution: the Flyers are used to falling behind early and finding a way to come back. They’re 14-13-5 when the opposition scores first, as opposed to the Rangers, who are a brutal 4-18-4 in such games.

No Soucy for you​

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Carson Soucy didn’t make the trip to Philadelphia due to personal reasons. Even though the pending UFA defenseman is likely to be among those traded ahead of this year’s deadline, this isn’t about roster management. The 31-year-old is expected to rejoin the team out west, when they play three games in California next week.

Urho Vaakanainen likely draws into the lineup against the Flyers to take Soucy’s spot on the third defense pair with rookie Scott Morrow. The Rangers recalled rugged veteran Connor Mackey from Hartford of the American Hockey League so that they have seven defensemen available, not only for the game Saturday, but for the trip since they fly out to Los Angeles right out after the matinee in Philly.

New York Rangers projected lineup​

J.T. Miller — Mika Zibanejad — Gabe Perreault

Artemi Panarin — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafreniere

Will Cuylle — Noah Laba — Brennan Othmann

Jonny Brodzinski — Sam Carrick –Taylor Raddysh

Vladislav Gavrikov — Braden Schneider

Matthew Robertson – Will Borgen

Urho Vaakanainen – Scott Morrow

Jonathan Quick

Spencer Martin

Rangers vs. Flyers: When, where, what time, how to watch​

Who: New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

When: Saturday, Jan. 17 at 1 p.m. ET

Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena

How to watch: MSG

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...s-preview-storylines-first-game-retool-letter

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers coach ‘all in’ despite retool plan, likely roster churn

You may not think Mike Sullivan signed up for this when he became New York Rangers coach last spring. But the two-time Stanley Cup winner contends that he remains “all in” after the Rangers announced plans to retool their roster amid a horribly disappointing season.

“I understand the process. What I’ll tell you is that I am all in on trying to help this organization move forward,” Sullivan said Saturday before the Rangers played the Flyers in Philadelphia.

“[General manager Chris Drury] and I have talked throughout this whole process. We have a very transparent relationship, and I’m going to do everything in my power to try to help this team move forward. I’m going to control what I can and try to be the very best coach that I can be for this organization.”

Likely no one within the organization, least of all Sullivan, foresaw the plummet to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings by the Rangers, who are headed to their second consecutive season out of the playoffs. That followed them reaching the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024, and winning the Presidents’ Trophy as the best regular season team in 2023-24.

But the core of this team began splintering last season, and despite quite a bit of roster turnover in the past 13 months, not even Sullivan could stop the freefall this season. The Rangers look slow and lack the overall depth and high-end skill level to compete with serious playoff contenders in today’s NHL. A string of injuries to key players hasn’t helped. Entering play Saturday, the Rangers lost four in a row by a 27-10 goal differential without injured No. 1 goalie Igor Shesterkin and top defenseman Adam Fox.

But a certain lack of mental touchness hangs over this team. “Fragile” is a word both Mika Zibanejad and Braden Schneider used recently.

Two simply embarrassing defeats — a 10-2 blowout in Boston against the Bruins last weekend, and an 8-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, when they allowed the first six goals — point to the “fragile” state of the Rangers.

But, it remains somewhat surprising that another such letter and declaration was made, after management’s first stab at a public admission and retool just eight years ago.

A Message from Chris Drury to Our Fans pic.twitter.com/JVimBJ59B7

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 16, 2026

“It’s probably a fairly common sensical statement to suggest that when you don’t meet expectations, or you don’t have success, the change is inevitable in pro sports. Is that a fair statement?,” Sullivan said. “So, I think our team is well aware of that, and that’s, to a certain extent, what we all sign up for.”

Rangers ‘going to try to win every game’ despite expected roster turnover​

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Rangers advised Artemi Panarin that they won’t offer him a contract extension. But they will work with the pending unrestricted free agent who holds a no-move clause on a trade to a team he prefers, since he must sign-off on any deal.

Official odds favor the Vegas Golden Knights in the expected Panarin sweepstakes. But the question is fair to ask whether the Rangers plan to hold Panarin or other players out of the lineup to protect them from injury as they’re being shopped.

“We’re going to try to win every game. These guys are competitive guys. We’re going to try to win every game in front of us. That’s just the way it’s going to be,” was how Sullivan answered the question.

Sullivan, by the way, sits on 499 career wins and is winless since Jan. 2, when the Rangers rocked the Florida Panthers 5-1 outdoors at the 2026 Winter Classic. Sullivan seeks to become the 31st coach in NHL history to reach the 500-victories milestone.

But there may not be many more wins coming this season, depending on the roster shakeup and/or how the current group reacts to the expected sell-off.

“We’re all human beings. We all understand the business, and we all understand the game,” Sullivan explained. “And so we’re going to do our very best to control what we can. We’re going to bring a good attitude. We’re going to try to bring exceptional effort every night. We’re going to try to play a collective effort game, and we’ll see where that takes us.”

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...sullivan-all-in-despite-retool-roster-changes

 

[New York Rangers]

Opting to cut ties with Artemi Panarin carries big risk in Rangers’ retool

The New York Rangers’ open letter to fans this week proclaiming the intent to retool their roster, rather than undertake a full rebuild, apparently included at least one very important fact that wasn’t stated publicly.

According to multiple media reports, general manger Chris Drury informed star forward Artemi Panarin, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, that the team won’t offer him a contract extension. The Rangers reportedly will look to deal him before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6 — though Panarin has a no-movement clause, meaning he can say where he would agree to go, or not go at all.

“It’s hard to say how I feel,” he said after scoring two goals and assisting on another in the Rangers’ 6-3 road win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. “I’m still confused, but the GM decided to go in a different direction. I’m OK with that. I’m a Ranger player right now, so I’ll play every game 100 percent.”

While Panarin could bring back a significant return as the Rangers looks to get younger, the decision seems curious at best, and perhaps disastrous at worst.

“This will be a retool built around our core players and prospects,” Drury wrote. What the GM didn’t do in the letter is specify who those “core players” are. It would be difficult to find many people who wouldn’t consider the team’s leading scorer in each of his seven seasons with the Rangers to be a member of that group, even at age 34.

Artemi Panarin still going strong this season for Rangers​

Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Panarin turns 35 on Oct. 30 and is undoubtedly looking for one more big payday after making his seven-year, $81.5 million contract ($11.642 million average annual value) with the Rangers look like a bargain. If he’s slowing down at all, it’s minimal, as evidenced by games like his two-goal, one-assist performance in the win at Philadelphia.

Panarin has a team-leading 54 points (18 goals, 36 assists) in 48 games this season — and 604 points in 478 contests since signing with the Rangers on July 1, 2019.

“I obviously think the world of him,” coach Mike Sullivan said after Saturday’s game. “He’s an elite player. He’s one of the best Rangers of his generation.”

CORNER = PICKED pic.twitter.com/FHb7za8qLm

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 17, 2026

In deciding that Panarin’s time in New York is nearly up, it’s fair to question whether the team is taking his team-record 1.26 points per game during those six-plus seasons for granted.

Panarin’s game is predicated on his elite vision, offensive instincts and shifty elusiveness — not speed or strength. There’s plenty of reason to believe that his game will age well as Panarin moves into his late 30s. It would hardly be surprising for him to go elsewhere and continue to produce at a level similar to the one he reached with the Rangers, for whom he’s turned in four seasons of at least 90 points.

The Rangers, expected to be armed with around $30 million in salary-cap space this summer, watched as what looked like a dream unrestricted free-agent class dwindled to essentially nothing, with Connor McDavid, Kirill Kaprizov, Jack Eichel, Martin Necas and Kyle Connor, among others, all re-upping with their current teams.

If Panarin reaches free agency, he’ll be the biggest name on the market, and he’s sure to be offered a lucrative contract by someone, especially with the NHL salary cap set to rise again. That the Blueshirts have money to spend and don’t want to engage with arguably the best free agent available seems at least somewhat difficult to understand.

Panarin jumped at the chance to come to New York seven years ago; he was willing to sign with a team that had formally declared its intention in a letter a year and a half earlier to turn over its roster. But then-GM Jeff Gorton didn’t hesitate to bring in an established, high-priced veteran, envisioning Panarin as a player who could help bridge the gap from rebuild to championship contention. The Russian star would, in theory, provide offense as the Rangers’ young players developed into bigger roles, and then be a critical piece on a team that would make runs at the Stanley Cup.

Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Panarin did just that. He piled up 95 points in 69 games in 2019-20, his first season with the Rangers, and almost certainly would have reached 100 for the first time had the season not been cut short due to Covid-19. By 2021-22, the Blueshirts were indeed ready to make a deep run toward the Stanley Cup Final, coming within two wins of defeating the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final.

Panarin put up 49 goals and 120 points in 2023-24, helping the Rangers win the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s regular-season champion. They again reached the conference final but came up two wins short against the eventual champion Florida Panthers. But it proved to be the ceiling for that group, as the Rangers endured an ugly non-playoff season in 2024-25 and appear headed in that direction again.

If there is a complaint about Panarin among the fan base, it’s that he failed to carry his dominant ways into the postseason — turning in a few big moments in 46 playoff contests with the Rangers but often failing to be a consistent difference-maker.

Panarin never stopped scoring in the regular season for the Rangers — yet Drury apparently views his value to the team to be greater as a trade chip than a member of the roster going forward. That he doesn’t feel Panarin could provide the same kind of presence Gorton saw — someone who could help pave the way back to contention — speaks to their differing philosophies on how to achieve that goal, as well as the fact that he’s in his mid-30s rather than his late 20s.

There is the matter of Panarin’s alleged off-ice transgressions that could be factoring into Drury’s — and perhaps upper management’s — thinking. Panarin took a three-week leave of absence during the 2020-21 season after being accused of getting into a physical altercation with a young woman in 2011. He and the Rangers claimed Panarin was being targeted for publicly opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin. Another report emerged last April saying that Panarin and Madison Square Garden Sports had paid financial settlements to a former team employee who made sexual assault accusations against the player; that incident allegedly occurred in 2023.

Whether that’s significant in Drury’s decision, the Rangers seem fine with the idea of saying goodbye to a prolific scorer whose creativity has added a dynamic dimension to their offense. If the GM has incorrectly assessed his ability to replace Panarin’s production, via trade and/or development of younger players, the Rangers’ stated intention to undertake a retool rather than a rebuild could end up necessitating the latter instead.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...tting-ties-with-artemi-panarin-is-retool-risk