Under Alain Vigneault, the New York Rangers are 6-16 against the New York Islanders. Against the team’s biggest rival, this is unacceptable.
There is a certain level of expectation on a nightly basis when watching the Rangers. The team is expected to try their hardest every single night. The frustrating thing for Ranger fans is that the team should be better than the Islanders. Especially the past few seasons in which the Rangers were perennial contenders. The team based out of Brooklyn is the Rangers little brother, expected to take their beating and move along.
New York’s record under Vigneault against the Islanders is outright unacceptable. Taking the personal aspect out of it, against any divisional opponent, being that far under 500 is egregious. This is a testament to Alain Vigneault’s unwillingness to adapt or change his team’s style. Thursday night against the Islanders, the Rangers played dump and chase for three periods trying to out-grind the Islanders.
Both teams had absolutely nothing to play for Thursday night, but the Rangers seemed woefully unprepared. Somehow, Lias Andersson, Paul Carey, and Peter Holland were allowed to start in the defensive zone against the John Tavares line. Now, the Islanders had last change as the home team, but it was a matter of Vigneault putting his players in a position to succeed.
Vigneault should be fired for a number of reasons, including his record against the Islanders. Less accomplished coaches continually outmaneuver Vigneault and it is frustrating to watch. The Rangers continually make Jaroslav Halak look better than he actually is. Ultimately, the play of Halak has made a big difference in the outcomes in the series.
The last win
The last time the Rangers beat the Islanders was the 2016-2017 home opener. In terms of Rangers history, that seems like eons ago. The team was full of hope and expected to contend for the Stanley Cup. On top of that, they were not a dumpster fire of a team in the defensive zone.
In the last win against the Islanders, Michael Grabner, Chris Kreider J.T Miller, Mats Zuccarello and Brandon Pirri scored the team’s goals. That team was based on speed to generate odd-man rushes to win games. That was the first tase of Grabner blowing by defensemen for easy scoring chances in a Ranger jersey.
The Rangers have had everything possible go wrong in games against the Islanders ever since. The losses are so frustrating because the team employs the same strategy every time they go head to head with their in city rival. The Rangers try to out cycle the Islanders and create chances by tiring out the defense. Logically, against a team that is as poor defensively as the Islanders, this should work.
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However, the team has mustered up several uninspired performances. The game Thursday night was the latest example of an uninspired group of players playing for a coach on borrowed time. The Rangers cannot continue to lose to the Islanders and expect their fans to stand for it.