The Rangers Have Lost Hope And So Have The Fans

The New York Rangers’ playoff chances are truly beginning to crumble. 

On Thursday night, the Rangers lost 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, further hindering their chances to crack the postseason. 

Going into this matchup, the Blueshirts were coming off of a brutal 2-1 defeat against the Calgary Flames where their lack of effort and passion were prevalent.

Peter Laviolette and the players made it a point of emphasis that they had to move on and forget about that dreadful performance.

Things didn’t exactly go to plan against Toronto though. Throughout the night, the Rangers were chasing and that’s always a recipe for disaster.  

New York tied the game on two separate occasions off of goals from Will Borgen and Artemi Panarin. 

Despite being able to sustain a consistent amount of offensive pressure, the Rangers made one too many mistakes from a defensive standpoint and the Maple Leafs made them pay.

Toronto took a two-goal lead toward the end of the second period and the Blueshirts just couldn’t recover from there.

“I would have liked to see more from the inside,” Laviolette said. “There were shots that came in, they found the net. The puck bounced through us, over us or we didn’t have someone in the interior. I would have liked to see more from there.”

In the third period, fans began to become restless and frustrated. They booed as the loss began to sink in while a couple of “Fire Lavy” chants could be heard at Madison Square Garden.

You could hear how quiet and lifeless it was in the world’s most famous arena. Over the course of a season filled with disappointments, it now finally feels as if everyone from coaches, to players, to fans have lost hope. 

Laviolette’s press conferences through the past two games have been short and straight to the point. Reporters are running out of questions to ask and Laviolette is running out of answers. 

Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is crystal clear at this point, and with losses continuing to pile up, there is no escaping it. 

The Rangers will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against the Vancouver Canucks.