Once again, with a win needed, the New York Rangers came up short on Saturday afternoon, being defeated 4-0 by the New Jersey Devils.
With the race for the playoffs and pursuit of that highly coveted second wild-card spot getting tighter, every game is essentially a must-win for the Rangers.
“We are always trying to stay focused,” Sam Carrick said before the game. “Obviously you can feel that the end is near. We don’t have a ton of time to collect points. Only have seven games left here… We are close to the end here and every game is huge.”
It was more or less even in the first period with both the Rangers and Devils trading scoring chances while the score remained 0-0 after 20 minutes of play.
The second period is when everything seemingly fell apart for the Rangers and that was all due to the special teams battle.
New Jersey struck gold with a power-play goal from Timo Meir to open up the scoring.
The Rangers had an opportunity to respond with a power play of their own and did exactly the opposite.
Not only did the Blueshirts not score, but they gave up a shorthanded goal. The Rangers have now allowed three shorthanded goals over the past four games.
Their power-play struggles have become glaringly obvious and are really beginning to cost them dearly.
The power play was once the Rangers’ strong suit and it’s suddenly become the team’s biggest weakness.
“It’s the difference right now,” Adam Fox said of the special-teams battle. “It’s costing us and it has been for a little while now… The execution is certainly not there. I think there’s a reason why we are giving up chances more than ever too. It’s not just, it’s we are not even generating any momentum from it.”
Once the Devils took a commanding 2-0 lead, the Rangers lost all confidence and any sense of momentum they may have had earlier in the contest.
Throughout the entire game, New York couldn’t generate consistent offense, which was also a key factor in the loss.
After the loss, players in the Rangers' locker room had nothing of substance to say because they've just run out of answers and frustration continues to build.
The Rangers no longer control their own destiny with the Montreal Canadiens holding the second wild-card spot, two points ahead of the Blueshirts and have a game in hand.
The Rangers don’t possess that desperation and passion that is needed to make the playoffs or go on a deep run.
Time and time again, the Rangers have had opportunities to make ground in the standings and squandered those chances.
Eventually, you just have to realize that the Rangers might not have what it takes, and we have reached that point.
Former Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said “talent doesn't mean a thing” after the Devils eliminated the Blueshirts during the 2023 playoffs.
That quote still remains true today. The Rangers have all the talent in the world, but there is something fundamentally wrong with the team that is holding them back and it might be too late to fix it.
The Rangers will be back in action on Monday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Lightning.