The New York Rangers Need Their Fortress Back

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Nov 8, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York Islanders players celebrate a goal by New York Islanders center Brock Nelson (29) during the third period of a game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

Every team has a place that they like to call home. For the New York Rangers, that place has always been Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. Before their playoff run last year, the Rangers were notoriously known for being a force when playing at the World’s Most Famous Arena. It’s called “Rangerstown” for a reason, as they ended up winning 27 of their 41 games during the regular season. They were in the fight for the President Trophy all season long, but ended up finishing second fiddle to the Carolina Hurricanes in their division. Their momentum at the Garden allowed them to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. Nevertheless, the Broadway Blueshirts made an impression league-wide, positioning themselves as a premier threat in the NHL for years to come with their young talent and short-term success.

Now in 2022, the Rangers seem to be riding a see-saw in terms of their results. After winning 3 of their first 4 contests, New York has gone through two separate losing streaks, with both of them ironically at the Garden. This year, the team has won 3 of their first 9 games at home, triggering concerns for fans that this team is not looking the same as it has in years past. The Columbus Blue Jackets are numerically the worst team in the Metropolitan division thus far, yet they marched into New York City and just destroyed the Rangers 5-1 with Jaroslav Halak in net.

Nov 6, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller (79) and Detroit Red Wings left wing Elmer Soderblom (85) chase down the puck in the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

They have not only been losing games, but they have been blowing leads. In their last two home games, the Rangers had two-goal leads into the second period against the Detroit Red Wings and the New York Islanders. Against Detroit, Halak played lights-out in front of the cage, but they were just too overwhelming for the Rangers in the end. Two goals in the second period pushed the game to overtime, where Dominik Kubilak ended it with a deflection in front of Halak during a Power Play.

Against their cross-town rivals, it was a 3-1 Ranger lead going into the 3rd period. It took Islanders D Adam Pelech 14 seconds to score, which led to an Islander rampage with a 3-goal 3rd period, ending up in a 4-3 comeback win for the Isles. Igor Shesterkin was in net that night, but paid the price with the Blueshirts making costly mistakes. Igor’s stats may show that he is not as strong as his numbers from last year, but he still possesses the ability to make spectacular save after spectacular save, which keeps the Rangers in any game that they are involved in. “Shesty” was a big factor in the playoff run last year, so don’t discard his abilities this year just yet. Igor is 7-2-2 with a .909 Save Percentage, conceding 2.53 Goals Against per Game. Switch it over to Halak and he still hoists a bagel in the win column, going 0-3-1 to start his first season with the Rangers.

The good news is that this team still has firepower offensively, especially in their top 6. Artemi Panarin is one of the more coveted pieces of the squad, as he currently owns 21 points to his name, tied for 4th in the NHL. The majority of those come from assists (16) where he is tied for 3rd most in the league. Mika Zibanejad has 18 points (tied for 12th) with 8 goals embedded in the total (tied for 8th). Adam Fox may be a defenseman, but he is also a top-class distributor, dishing out 12 assists so far (tied for 11th).

Nov 3, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) brings the puck up ice against New York Rangers left wing Jimmy Vesey (26) during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

With all of this to consider, how did the Rangers lose control of their fortress? It is just simply the result of bad mistakes, and it shows in the plus/minus department. With all of Panarin’s brilliance, he has a -9 rating through 9 contests at MSG, meaning that he has been on the ice for a net total of 9 conceded goals. The captain, Jacob Trouba, has a mind-blowing -5 rating at home along with new acquisition, Vincent Trochek. The lone top guys with positive ratings are Chris Kreider (+1), Ryan Lindgren (+1), and Adam Fox (+2). What about reuniting the “Kid Line” that worked wonders in the postseason last year? The mix of Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil, and Alexis Lafrenière has proven to be a solution in dire situations for this organization. They have fun whenever they are out on the ice, and it is on head coach Gerard Gallant to guide his young weapons.

After their latest gut-wrenching losses, the Blueshirts got one back on the Red Wings, destroying them by a score of 8-2 on Thursday night with six goals in the final period of play. Igor only faced 20 shots all night-long, limiting his relevance down the stretch. Zibanejad scored two goals in his 700th career NHL game and Adam Fox had 3 assists to seal the deal. It has always been the Rangers running out of energy towards the end of the game, with Gallant pleading to his team that they keep up the pace for all 60+ minutes of hockey. They now go on the road for 6 of their next 7 games with Nashville being their next destination. The Predators host the Rangers on Saturday night before the Blueshirts return to Broadway to play the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday night. From there, it’s 5 games on the road, a good time for the team to re-evaluate themselves in different environments. They currently sit in 4th place in the Metropolitan division with a 7-5-3 record with an away record of 4-2-0. If you watch the games, you can tell something is off in the way this team finishes games, perhaps this upcoming road trip will allow New York to rediscover themselves as the forces of nature that they proved to be last year.

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