NASHVILLE — A little over six months ago, the New York Rangers were two wins from reaching the Stanley Cup Final. On Tuesday, they dropped a game to the last-place team in the league for the second time in eight days. They sit at .500 — a shell of last season’s Presidents’ Trophy team.
The Rangers lost 2-0 to the Nashville Predators, who joined Chicago as last-place teams to beat the Rangers this month. New York has lost 11 of its past 14 games, tumbling from 12-4-1 to outside a playoff spot.
“We’re in the business of winning,” a terse Peter Laviolette said postgame. “Everybody’s irritated by the whole thing. We’ve got to find a way out, and we’ve got to do it quick.”
The Rangers are 3-9-0 since general manager Chris Drury sent a memo to other teams saying he was open for business and mentioned the team’s longest-tenured player, Chris Kreider, and captain, Jacob Trouba, by name. They are 2-6-0 since Drury traded Trouba to Anaheim. This is a team in free fall.
“I think it’s all mental at this point,” defenseman Braden Schneider said after the latest loss. “We want to do the right things. We’re working to do the right things and are just a hair off — just a little off the mark.
Here are four takeaways from the Predators loss, the newest low point of the Rangers’ season.
Limited offense with Panarin out
Top point producer Artemi Panarin (upper-body injury) went through morning skate Tuesday but missed his second consecutive game in the evening. The Rangers were already having a tough time scoring before he got hurt. Without him, it’s gotten even more difficult.
Vincent Trocheck didn’t see a lack of effort against Nashville. He liked the chances New York generated.
“We’ve got to put the puck in the net,” he said.
Laviolette was OK with his team’s first two periods but didn’t like the third. Nashville pushed in the period, eventually breaking through when rookie Adam Wilsby danced around Reilly Smith and whipped a shot in from the slot for his first NHL goal.
“We needed more in the third,” Laviolette said. “When you’re down 1-0, that’s when we’ve got to find our way out of something. That’s where we’re not getting it done right now.”
In total, New York got outshot 24-16 in the final two periods. Nashville dominated the expected goals share during that stretch, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Especially with Panarin out, the Rangers need more from their top forwards. They simply haven’t gotten it. Over the past five games, Mika Zibanejad, Trocheck and Alexis Lafrenière have only one point apiece. Kreider has zero.
Lack of defensive depth shows early
With Trouba gone and K’Andre Miller hurt, Laviolette went with a third defensive pair of Urho Vaakanainen and Chad Ruhwedel.
Ruhwedel went for a loose puck at the top of the offensive zone, but with Filip Forsberg charging the defenseman deflected it to Jonathan Marchessault, giving the Predators a three-on-two rush.
“It’s a 50-50 puck at the blue line,” Laviolette said. “We get beat. That can’t happen.”
Marchessault passed it to Forsberg in the Predators offensive zone. With Vaakanainen moving over to defend Forsberg, the Swede passed to Steven Stamkos, who found Marchessault with a backdoor feed. He scored to give the Predators the lead. It was a high-skill play but one that unfolded because of a defensive miscue. Nashville never relinquished the lead.
Cuylle shows some fire
Will Cuylle — who has 11 goals this season and plays with a ferocity the Rangers need — did not like a Luke Evangelista cross-check as Igor Shesterkin dove onto a puck midway through the second period. He got up, turned around and charged at the Predators forward, as did Lafrenière. A scrum ensued, and Marc Del Gaizo went after Cuylle at the end. Cuylle did not take kindly to that and threw his gloves to the ground. The bout was short. The Rangers forward landed a punch and then brought Del Gaizo to the ice.
“He’s not scared of anything,” Schneider said. “I love the way he’s playing. He’s fighting for us, and that’s what we need right now.”
The Rangers came out of the melee with a power play, but that didn’t lead to a goal. They finished the night 0-for-2 with the man advantage. Trocheck thought the power play was operating well but once again couldn’t finish. Kreider rattled off multiple near-misses.
“That’s a very good penalty kill,” he said. “We had four or five pretty good looks. That’s good. We were working hard, relieving pressure. Just the way it goes, unfortunately.”
What comes next?
The Rangers’ situation is getting dire fast. They are now a .500 team, and their next seven games are against teams currently in playoff position. Drury needs to decide if the answers to salvaging this season are in this dressing room and, if not, if there are moves that could give the team a chance.
New York has two off days before it plays in Dallas. The roster might not look the same when puck drop comes.
(Photo: Steve Roberts / Imagn Images)
