Rangers in danger of sliding out of playoff chase in East after latest loss
It won’t be a Happy New Year for the New York Rangers.
The Blueshirts headed to Miami and their NHL Winter Classic game against the Florida Panthers on Friday having lost three in a row since the Christmas break. The third defeat came Wednesday afternoon, when the Washington Capitals avenged a 7-3 loss to New York eight days ago with a 6-3 win at Capital One Arena.
Going 0-2-1 in their first three post-Christmas games dropped the Rangers to 19-18-5 through an NHL-high 42 games played. Being one game above the NHL’s version of .500 won’t get you anywhere except to the bottom of the Eastern Conference in points percentage (.512) – and all of the other 15 teams have multiple games in hand.
Point-wise, they’re two away from the second wild-card spot – but that figures to worsen before they hit the ice in Miami because almost everyone they’re battling in the playoff race plays before then.
It wasn’t that the Rangers played badly against Washington; they didn’t. They went to the net, something that coach Mike Sullivan has been pushing his players to do much more often.
But as has been the case for much of the season, the Rangers didn’t play well enough to win; they dropped to 1-3-1 on the six-game trip that ends in Miami. Playing well is nice, but winning is what counts.
“We need a game where we play well and win,” center Mika Zibanejad said.
Adam Fox’s return is best news for Rangers in loss to Capitals
The one piece of good news was the return of their best defenseman, Adam Fox, who missed 14 games with an upper-body injury. For much of the game, Fox looked like the D-man who won the Norris Trophy in 2021, scoring a power-play goal and adding an assist.
He was eager to get back after missing a month, during which his teammates went 6-5-3.
“Playing, not playing, you’re looking at the standings every day and how tight it is,” Fox said. “These division games are massive, so obviously I’m trying to come back and have make an impact and help the team as best I can.”
The bad news was that they could be without forwards Noah Laba and Conor Sheary for a bit. Each left the game with an injury – Laba was freight-trained by Caps forward Tom Wilson just after the seven-minute mark of the second period and left with an upper-body injury. Sheary sustained a lower-body injury a few minutes later and didn’t return. Sullivan said each player was being evaluated.
The injuries left the Rangers down two forwards for the last 26 minutes.
“It taxes guys when you lose two (players) like that,” Sullivan said.
The Rangers were also without center Sam Carrick for a big chunk of the second period after he stepped up in Laba’s defense and fought Wilson, who also had two goals and an assist for a Gordie Howe Hat Trick. The willingness to fight Wilson, one of the NHL’s best fighters — and a member of Canada’s Olympic team — wasn’t lost of some of his teammates.
“There’s more in that area that’s needed from a lot of guys,” center Vincent Trocheck said, referring to the Rangers’ physical play – or lack thereof on a lot of nights.
The Rangers play their first home game since Dec. 20 on Monday when they host the Utah Mammoth, beginning a stretch that will see them play four of five at Madison Square Garden – all against teams currently outside a playoff berth. That would ordinarily be a chance to pile up some points – but it may not be the case for the NHL’s worst home team (5-10-3, including six shutout losses). The Rangers are still just a hot week or two from jumping back into a playoff spot — but they’ve shown no signs of being capable of running off the lengthy winning streak they need.
Maybe Friday’s trip to the great outdoors will help. The Rangers are 2-0-0 in Winter Classic games and 5-0-0 in their five outdoors contests.
“There were some things we can do better and some things we can build on, but at the end of the day it was another loss,” Zibanejad said. “We have to find a way to just stop the bleeding and get a win. [We have] an opportunity in the outdoor game on a big stage.”
