The New York Rangers’ season is effectively over before the Olympic break, as a series of disastrous performances have left the entire organization in shock.
On Wednesday night, they suffered their ninth loss in 11 games, falling 8-4 to the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden. This marks the second time in three games they’ve allowed eight or more goals, following a 10-goal drubbing by the Bruins in Boston on Saturday.
The Rangers have managed just five wins in 22 home games this season, with only two of those victories coming in regulation. With 46 points across 48 games, they sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and possess a minus-21 goal differential, which ranks as the fourth-worst in the league.
This was a team expected to be a playoff contender, especially after hiring two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach Mike Sullivan.
“We’ve experienced a range of emotions. There’s been a lot of anger,” Sullivan said after Wednesday night’s loss. “We’re trying all we can to fix this and push things in the right direction. We’ll keep striving to find solutions. There are no easy answers. We must work hard, we must collaborate, we must remain united… that’s our task.”
A significant portion of the blame is directed at general manager Chris Drury, who managed a team that reached two Eastern Conference Finals from 2021 to 2024, and is now on the brink of a second consecutive season without playoff action.
With Rangers fans chanting “Fire Drury” at MSG for a second consecutive game, a significant roster sell-off before the March 6 deadline seems necessary. This might be the only way to awaken this team.
Despite assertions of being a desperate team, the Rangers show no signs of it. They fell behind 4-0 to the Senators by the end of the first period, effectively ending the contest early.
“Earlier this season, we lost games, but I felt the effort was present,” veteran forward Mika Zibanejad remarked. “I’m not saying the effort isn’t here now, but our play isn’t… If we knew the reason, we wouldn’t look like this. We need to convert our desperation into energy. We need to channel whatever we’re feeling into some form of energy.”
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