Rangers suffer their first ever regulation defeat at Little Caesars Arena

It had been a long time since the Rangers had lost in regulation in Motown, but a poor display from the Rangers saw that come to an end. With players like Michael Rasmussen able to just kick the Rangers up and down the ice, it became evident that whatever the Rangers were capable of doing was just not going to be enough because they couldn’t keep up with this Red Wings team. Detroit deservedly beat them.

Vincent Trocheck got the Rangers on the board in this one when he tallied his 17th of the year to tie the game in the 2nd. It would eventually prove to be insufficient as the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native tallied the only mark for the Blueshirts. The offense in this game was just not there for the Rangers and they could not solve Ville Husso despite having adequate chances.

If the Rangers cannot correct themselves, they are going to quickly find themselves too far back from the teams ahead of them to make up the ground. They are now six points back of the New Jersey Devils after the Devils beat LA in overtime yesterday and 9 points back of the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes who have 2 extra games to play over the Blueshirts. The position the Rangers are in is precarious in terms of ambitions.

This was not a vintage Rangers performance but the Blueshirts have to find a way to bounce back. There’s a long time left in this season and the recent run of results shouldn’t be worrying enough to justify panic yet. There will be playoff hockey in Manhattan this season and that didn’t look likely around the beginning of December this year. Do not overreact to this, there will be a time for judgment but that will be when the postseason rolls around.