The Rangers season begins tomorrow night in Buffalo. Oh, last night at The Garden?
That was just an exhibition and a terrible Rangers one at that considering that Mike Sullivan's team launched the club's Centennial season looking flatter than Brighton Beach on New Year's Day.
But at least coach Mike Sullivan was/is consistent. He opened the 2024-25 season with a shutout loss as Pittsburgh coach and was blanked 3-0 last night by a Penguins team picked to finish dead last in the Met Division.
"We've got a long way to go," said Sully, now sitting pretty as the highest-paid NHL coach.
The Maven will take the coach's word to heart and hereby have changed the team theme from: STANLEY CUP OR BUST, TO ONE CHEESY WIN OR BUST.
I mean how do you lose to a tenuous team that starts its backup goalie, Arturs Silovs? How do you open at home in the Rangers 100th anniversary and look dead from the neck up?
No wonder that – at one point in the game – the crowd began chanting "Let's Go Pens!"
"They outplayed us," allowed new captain J.T. Miller, "for the majority of the game."
But why?
Maybe, Mika Zibanejad has the answer: "We're looking at ourselves." Maybe he should take a look at his coach.
Rangers' Season Opener Began In Celebration And Ended In Despair
The night started off in celebration with cheers from the crowd as the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/">Rangers</a> kicked off their centennial season, but it ended with boos after the Blueshirts lost 3-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in their season opener.
Sully went oh-for-three-missed playoffs over the last trio of years and got shutout in his last two season openers.
"I'm not going to overreact," the coach sagely concluded.
Why should he?
His Rangers' real season starts tomorrow in Buffalo where the Sabres haven't made the playoffs in 14 years. With that in mind, the new mantra offers hope:
ONE CHEESY WIN OR BUST!