Kyle Ross-Imagn ImagesIn the New York Rangers’ first game on Saturday afternoon since the Letter 2.0 was issued by Chris Drury, emphasizing the team’s intentions to go into a retool, they secured a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, snapping a five-game losing streak.
It was an emotional day on Friday for all involved with the Rangers organization, as Drury revealed that he plans to retool the roster with a warning to fans that they may have to say “goodbye to players that have brought us and our fans great moments over the years”, indicating that the team could look to trade some of its core members.
Despite essentially stating their intentions to punt on attempting to make the playoffs this season with their sights set on the future, Mike Sullivan’s message to his team remained the exact same as it always has been.
“We want to have internal expectations that we're going to set the bar high, and we're going to pursue excellence every day, and we're not going to lower the standard of what that expectation is of ourselves each and every day,” Sullivan said. “We're going to embrace that process, whether it's practice, games, or otherwise. That's the conversation that we had with the group, and that's how we're going to approach it every day.”
That message was well received by the Rangers in Philadelphia.
After giving up the game’s first goal, the Blueshirts managed to score six unanswered goals through the first and second period, displaying what Sullivan describes as one of their most “assertive” efforts..
It was a particularly strong individual performance from Mika Zibanejad, who recorded his second hat trick of the season and tied Bill Cook for the most hat tricks in franchise history with nine.
After the game, Zibanejad was sentimental when discussing his feelings toward Drury’s letter and the franchise’s decision to embark on a retool.
“I think, overwhelmed with a lot of emotions, like I said, and a lot of feelings and thoughts about it,” Zibanejad said, describing his emotions. “If changes are coming, just try to make the most of the time we have as a group.”
The spotlight was on Artemi Panarin since it was also revealed on Friday that Drury reportedly had an individual meeting with Panarin and informed him that he will not be offered a contract extension, while the team is prepared to work with him and agent Paul Theofanous to trade him anywhere he wishes to go.
“It's hard to say how I feel, still confused, but yeah, (the) team decided to go in a different direction,” Panarin said. “I'm ok with that. I'm a Rangers player right now so I gotta play every game 100%.”
Panarin was able to deliver in a big way through all of the adversity regarding his future, scoring two goals while posting a three-point game.
Sullivan praised Panarin’s ability to tune out the outside noise and feels it is indicative of his character.
“I obviously think the world of him, he's an elite player,” Sullivan said of Panarin. “He's one of the best Rangers of his generation. I think his body of work speaks for itself, and what he's accomplished in the league. I think to have a game he had today, after the last couple of days, is, once again, he's one of the guys that I'm talking about when I talk about the types of people that we have in the room, their character, and how much they care. I think his game today was representative of that. He's a great person. He's an elite player. He drives offense in so many ways, and he continues to do that for us.”
To top off all of the emotions that came with this game, Brennan Othmann scored his first career NHL goal, taking a huge weight off of his shoulders.
It was clear that the frustration of not scoring at the NHL level was taking a toll on Othmann, and now that he finally found the back of the net, he took time to reflect on getting that monkey off of his back.
“Every day since I got my first call, you wonder when it's going to go in and then it doesn't go in for 34 games, and you're wondering if you're ever going to get that one, and you're wondering if you're ever going to get an opportunity to play in the NHL,” Othmann said. “You (don’t) want to take these days for granted. You (don’t) want to take playing for granted. And obviously, very fortunate to be here and very fortunate to see that one go in.”
As inspiring as this victory may have been, it doesn't change the harsh reality that the Rangers, in all likelihood, will not make the playoffs and the letter that Drury issued just over 24 hours ago is not just thrown out the window after one win.
A tremendous amount of change is on the horizon for the Rangers, with the team’s competitive window officially closed shut.
However, at least the days of pretending this team is a contender and putting Band-Aids on a depleting core in order to salvage a hopeless championship window are over, and the Rangers played with a sense of freedom on Saturday afternoon because of it.
“It’s been heavy as I said, the last little while here,” Sullivan said. “It's not because the guys don't care. It's just the complete opposite. It's because they do care, and they and everybody that’s involved with this team is completely invested in so many ways.
“When we don't have success, it gets heavy, and everybody feels it. I thought today was a more spirited effort, just as far as our ability to play a more instinctive game… It's hard to play this game when you're not in an instinctive mindset.That's been our challenge most recently that we've been trying to overcome, and I thought today, they did a great job in it.”