SUNRISE, Fla. — The New York Rangers probably deserved better. They controlled play at five-on-five and their special teams units delivered after a difficult game in Tampa Bay. One of the Florida Panthers’ goals came on a play Peter Laviolette insisted should have been goaltender interference, and Florida scored another he considered challenging for the same reason.
None of that matters when you’re in last place. Whether they played better or not, their 5-3 loss to the defending champions Monday was another setback in a stretch full of them. New York is 4-15-0 since Nov. 21.
“It is frustrating because you feel like you’re doing more good than you are bad out there, but at the end of the day it’s not showing on the scoreboard,” Laviolette said. “That’s the business: It’s winning. So it’s not good enough.”
“No moral victories at this point,” Vincent Trocheck added.
The Panthers loss isn’t a bad one in a vacuum. Neither was the one Saturday to Tampa Bay. These are formidable opponents, ones who have won championships and have both superstar players and depth.
But the Rangers are at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division and their playoff odds are down to 14 percent, per Dom Luszczyszyn’s model. Losses far worse than the ones in Florida are the reason for their rapid descent. Which ones are the most troubling? Let’s examine.
1. Dec. 23: Devils 5, Rangers 0
This loss was far from a good process, bad results game. It was a combination of all the Rangers’ woes in this stretch. They were flat, mustering only 12 shots against one of their biggest rivals. The lopsided score was an accurate reflection of the game.
The New Jersey Devils took every chance to rub it in. They took multiple shots at the Rangers on social media and played a video on the scoreboard of Rangers fans cheering when the Devils selected Hughes No. 1 overall, which gave New York the chance to select Kaapo Kakko. The Rangers had moved on from Kakko four days earlier. Hughes, meanwhile, had two goals and an assist in the Devils win.
On top of all that, this was Chris Kreider’s first game as a healthy scratch since John Tortorella was head coach, and the Rangers committed two bench minors for having too many men on the ice, a sign of poor team discipline.
2. Dec. 14: Kings 5, Rangers 1
This loss was bad enough for the Rangers to hold a players-only meeting in the immediate aftermath. The Los Angeles Kings scored twice in the first period, then dropped three goals in the first 5:04 of the second, causing Laviolette to pull Igor Shesterkin. Any hope of building off a win in Buffalo three days earlier evaporated.
3. Nov. 29: Flyers 3, Rangers 1
The Rangers were on a four-game losing streak entering this game and had every reason to come out with fire. Instead, the Philadelphia Flyers scored twice in the first five minutes and New York managed only 23 shots. This was the Rangers’ fourth-worst game of the season by five-on-five expected goals percentage, according to Natural Stat Trick, and second-worst since the start of their tailspin.
4. Nov. 23: Oilers 6, Rangers 2
The Rangers were still 12-6-1 after this loss, and it came against a good team at the end of a four-game road trip. On the surface, it wasn’t the end of the world. But this game prompted Chris Drury’s now-infamous memo to 31 other teams saying he was open for business and would listen for offers on then-captain Jacob Trouba and Kreider, the team’s longest-tenured player.
5. Dec. 2: Devils 5, Rangers 1
This was Trouba’s final game for the Rangers, who got destroyed by the rival Devils on home ice. New Jersey scored four times on Shesterkin in the first 32:38. The Rangers felt they finished the game OK, but it was too little too late after a brutal first two periods.
6. Dec. 9: Blackhawks 2, Rangers 1
Arvid Söderblom played well in net for Chicago, but this was still a loss to the team at the bottom of the league standings, one that came into the game on a five-game losing streak.
7. Dec. 17: Predators 2, Rangers 0
As with the Chicago game, this was less about the final score and more about the opponent. Despite the Predators’ big additions over the offseason, Nashville was tied with Chicago at the bottom of the standings going into this game. Losing twice to the league’s worst team — two different clubs — in eight days is disastrous.
This loss also marked the end of the Kakko era. He expressed frustration at being a healthy scratch in St. Louis two nights before the game and was a member of the Seattle Kraken two days later.
Adam Fox tries to block a Jared McCann shot during a 7-5 home loss. (Al Bello / Getty Images)
8. Dec. 8: Kraken 7, New York 5
This game would be higher on the list if not for New York’s third-period pushback that brought the Rangers within a goal. New York had a 3-1 lead late in the second, then surrendered five consecutive goals, including four in a seven-minute span at the end of the second and start of the third.
9. Nov. 25: Blues 5, Rangers 2
This was New York’s first game after the Drury memo, and it did not go well. The Rangers allowed 44 shots to a team that struggles to generate offense. Matt Rempe made a brief cameo, but he got sent back to the AHL after taking a costly roughing penalty while it was still a one-goal game in the third period. The Rangers actually had their lowest expected goals share at five-on-five of any game in this stretch, according to Natural Stat Trick.
It was also Jim Montgomery’s first game as St. Louis coach, and that appeared to give the Blues a bit of a boost.
10. Dec. 15: Blues 3, Rangers 2
Going down 3-0 to a middle-of-the-pack Blues club was a huge sign for concern, and a strong push in the third period wasn’t enough to come away with a win.
To make matters worse for the Rangers, they didn’t have to play St. Louis starter Jordan Binnington in either game against the Blues. Joel Hofer won both.
11. Dec. 28: Lightning 6, Rangers 2
The Rangers played decently at five-on-five but had an atrocious special teams night, allowing two power play goals and two shorthanded goals. It was not a banner night by any means, but considering they were playing a quality opponent and were at least good at even strength, it was better than other losses, even if the final score was lopsided.
12. Nov. 21: Flames 3, Rangers 2
The Flames thoroughly outplayed the Rangers, but New York was coming off a good win in Vancouver. The vibes hadn’t cratered at this point. It was an alarming game but in the moment did not seem like one that would presage disaster.
13. Nov. 27: Hurricanes 4, Rangers 3
New York had the lead in the third period and managed only 22 shots against Spencer Martin, a goalie who is currently in the AHL. The Rangers should have held on to grab at least one point, but Carolina is too good a team for this one to be among their most embarrassing.
14. Dec. 22: Hurricanes 3, Rangers 1
New York was coming off a win in Dallas and scored first against a formidable Carolina club. The Rangers were close throughout until an empty-net goal put the game out of reach.
Igor Shesterkin lunges to make the save against Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe. (Jim Rassol / Imagn Images)
15. Dec. 30: Panthers 5, Rangers 3
The Panthers game was perhaps New York’s most complete effort of this stretch, even including the four wins. But the Rangers haven’t earned many breaks lately, and they didn’t get them against the team that eliminated them from the Eastern Conference final in June.
Doesn’t that feel like a long time ago?
(Top photo of Jonathan Quick: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
