The New York Rangers are 2-6-0 after two weeks of the 2018-2019 NHL season. Things have gotten off to a bumpy and inconsistent start.
Things were never going to be pretty in a rebuilding season. There were a lot of question marks about the New York Rangers going into the season. Could the offense find a way to score goals in a new offensive system? Could the defense even be close to passable without a true number one defenseman?
Early on it’s clear that New York as a whole is snake bitten beyond belief as evident by its terrible luck against the Calgary Flames. The Rangers had 21 more shots in the game than the Flames and they still managed to lose. It’s a pull your hair out kind of season, even though there aren’t expectations.
No one realistically expected the Rangers to be in the mix for the postseason, but being in all of these games and finding ways to lose is painfully frustrating. These types of close losses will eventually take a mental toll on the team, especially a young group. It’s important that the young guys not get discouraged in a tough situation.
That’s how organizations enter a perpetual cycle of rebuilding. When young guys don’t have a chance it can hinder their development.
Be sure to have the coffee brewing as the Rangers begin their first west coast swing of the season this weekend into next week.
Best of Bluelinestation.com
- Michael Delesandro argues that Neal Pionk, not Tony DeAngelo is the Rangers best young right-handed defenseman
- David Bruce gave an update on how Vitali Kravtsov’s KHL season is going so far
- Steve Paulus checked in on former Rangers around the league and how they’re fitting in
- Drew McCaffrey looked into how the prospects in Hartford are playing
- The Rangers sent Alexandar Georgiev down to the AHL in favor of veteran backup Marek Mazanec
- Nick Zararis argued as to why the Rangers should keep Chytil on the wing going forward
News from around the web
- Henrik Lundqvist was the one who pushed to start back to back games early last week
- Tony DeAngelo is getting used to the catering in the press box and probably should be playing in the AHL but could not clear waivers
- ElitesportsNY went into the Rangers goal scoring issues and where they stem from
- Filip Chytil is playing well even though the former first-round pick cannot find the back of the net
Schedule this week
- Versus Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden 10/23
- Versus Chicago Blackhawks at United Center 10/25
- Versus Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center 10/18 3:30 pm