The New York Rangers have now lost their fifth consecutive game as they were defeated 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday afternoon. It’s been a dreadful couple of weeks for the Rangers between their lackluster play and trade rumors that cloud over the franchise. While the Rangers undoubtedly have a lot of talent, it’s the energy they’ve been playing with that continues to be a problem and that was especially evident in the first period performance against the Flyers. Igor Shesterkin Has Reportedly Rejected Contract Extension Paying Him $11 Million Per Season New York came out completely flat to start the contest. The Flyers bombarded them with shot after shot and scored two goals through the first five minutes. The Rangers reached a new low point in this game. They were just playing with no heart whatsoever and their intensity was nonexistent. You would expect more fight from a team that was on a four-game losing streak going into the day, but the Rangers didn’t show that. The fashion in which the Rangers started this game was simply unacceptable and it ultimately led to their demise. While New York played a stronger brand of hockey through the final 40 minutes and Vincent Trocheck was able to score, breaking a six-game pointless streak, it was too little too late. Even in the third period, the Rangers looked dysfunctional offensively and there was no sense of urgency during the most critical moment of the afternoon. The Rangers need to find their identity that propelled them to win the Presidents’ Trophy last year and reach the Eastern Conference Final. It’s basically the same core that was able to accomplish that impressive feat just one season ago, yet there is now something fundamentally off with this team. The Rangers will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against the Montreal Canadiens, desperate for a win.
