From best-on-best international hockey to whatever that Rangers game was really gave us both ends of the spectrum. No one came prepared to play yesterday in what was a must win for the Blueshirts. The 4 Nations players no-showed, the goalie no-showed, and none of the fresh players picked up the slack. In a season defining loss, the Rangers gave up 8 goals, the first time since 2018.
The Rangers have usually been able to mask play like this with goaltending, and now we are seeing why the Rangers need that goaltending. It’s clear Igor Shesterkin is fighting something, as he’s been off since getting bumped by Ryan Lindgren the first time. Regardless, his last 6 starts have been truly abysmal with a 1-5 record and an .817 save percentage. He can’t mask a pee-wee team’s mistakes like this, let alone whatever the Rangers have been throwing out there. It may be in the Rangers’ best interest to just shut him down the rest of the regular season.
We all know last night was a disaster. There’s no need to dissect it further. So let’s focus on one positive: Chris Kreider tying the franchise power play goal total at 116. Like Shesterkin, Kreider is clearly battling an injury: His goal production and foot speed are down, and he’s no longer being deployed in the top six.
Selfishly, I’d love to see Kreider remain a Ranger and break Rod Gilbert’s goal record–and maybe finally win a Cup here when the next iteration of this team happens–but I think the writing is on the wall. The trade deadline is 12 days away, and players like Kreider who elevate their game in the playoffs can be a premium. Any acquiring team would get three playoff runs with Kreider, and that has significant value.
Last night was a statement game alright. The statement was this iteration of the Rangers is done. They burned through their benefit of the doubt earlier in the season, and now they laid another egg in a must-win against a bad team. No matter what happens in Pittsburgh–the other egg they laid before the break–it’s clear this core doesn’t have it anymore.
