When any team experiences an early slump, it can be easy for fans to get down on them. Fans of New York sports teams can be especially harsh. Rangers fans can be even harsher.
The Rangers are off to one of their worst starts in the last decade — they currently sit at 3-7-2 through 12 games (eight points). Play has looked sloppy and inconsistent and players have not been able to gel or find any sort of consistency on their lines and in their pairings.
In any given season, there are reasons to be concerned and reasons not to be. This season, there are concerns that have been voiced. However, when fans see their teams in situations like the ones the Rangers are in currently, they can overreact.
While these overreactions have legitimate basis at their core, it is easy to overlook what lies at the heart of the problem.
Here we take a look at five things that we’ve heard about the 2017-18 New York Rangers to start to this season, and we break down what lies at the center of these emotional responses.