Just when you thought the season couldn’t hit a lower rock bottom, the New York Rangers proceeded to get shutout by the worst team in the NHL. What are we doing here? Is there no pride? Is there no willingness to want to compete with your teammates? This mix of quiet quitting veterans and hungry kids who aren’t quite ready yet leads to some really bad hockey games.
Igor Shesterkin was fine, allowing just 2 goals and giving the Rangers a chance to win. But Will Cuylle, Zac Jones, and Brett Berard can’t do it alone. James Dolan cannot reward this group and their moaning with another coaching staff or a new GM. That ship has sailed. This team needs to be taken back behind the wood shed Old Yeller style and put out of this fanbase’s misery.
Even with 51 games remaining, I don’t think you can look at this roster and how they are conducting themselves on the ice and tell them reinforcements are coming. We know players like Kaapo Kakko are in play, we know Chris Kreider is possibly in play as a major commodity around the NHL. Ryan Lindgren will probably be in play as well. Whether something happens before the roster freeze on Friday remains to be seen.
The only bright spot, true bright spot, has been Will Cuylle. The Rangers haven’t had this sort of player in their lineup since maybe the Ryan Callahan days. Cuylle was engaged in puck battles and he even stirred up a fight after Luke Evangelista crosschecked him in the back after a whistle.
Alexis Lafreniere roughed up Evangelista as well, but then Marc Del Gaizo tried to headlock Cuylle, and they fought a quick second before Cuylle took him down, skated to the penalty box and pointed at Evangelista as if to say that it was all his fault his teammate got beat up by Cuylle. Build around him. This league talks about finding the next “Tkachuk” type and, well, Cuylle isn’t going to be scoring 100 points in a season anytime soon, but this guy does everything else on the ice.
What more is there to say as the team loses its 3rd game in a row to a bad team and is 3-11 in its last 14? This is simply terrible hockey we haven’t seen since the 1998-2004 era. I would suggest any Rangers fan try and catch World Juniors over the holiday break and get a look at James Hagens for Team USA (Gabe Perreault’s linemate at Boston College) and potential top pick.
