Same stuff (it’s a PG website, folks), different day from the New York Rangers. A lackluster effort manifested itself into yet another embarrassing loss on home ice, this time to the worst team in the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks–who in turn gave their new head coach Anders Sorensen his first NHL win, and the first ever win by an NHL head coach born in Sweden. Not the kind of historical event you want to be on the receiving end for if you’re the Rangers.
With Igor Shesterkin extended and Jacob Trouba traded, the Rangers are supposed to leverage their mix of youth skill and veteran presence to turn things around. There is no reason the team should look this flat at this stage of the season. Losing their 8th game in the last 10, and the season continuing to chug along, it is really hard to see how the team can get out of the hole they’ve dug themselves.
By all accounts, the vibes should be better The Rangers are objectively better on paper after dumping Trouba and Barclay Goodrow. Instead, the only players showing up night in and night out are the kids. Chris Drury publicly stated that the front office would leave the team alone as a way to just let them relax and get back to playing hockey, but I don’t know how much longer this can last.
At the time of writing this post, the Rangers sit in the final wild card spot in the Eastern conference. That is simply not good enough with the high-priced veterans this team has.
On the bright side, we are seeing Will Cuylle blossom this season. The roster needs a few more Cuylles, someone who is not afraid to dig into the corners, battle for pucks, lay out opponents, and go to the proper areas of the ice to score. His effort and style of play is showing up on the score sheet too, on pace to almost triple his production from his rookie season.
But give him credit, Cuylle is making his own luck by being in the right place at the right time all season long. Luck is a huge factor in how the puck bounces at times, but luck favors the prepared and Cuylle makes the effort every shift. Should the team go into a re-tool mode, this is a center piece in your next core. The natural chemistry between he and Kaapo Kakko is also really fun to watch as a fan.
Next up for the Rangers is the lowly Buffalo Sabres, as the easy part of the schedule comes to a close. Desperation clearly isn’t motivating this team, maybe embarrassment will?
