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Three Reasons the Rangers let the Devils Tie the Series at MSG

By Conor Power

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 24: Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils (C) celebrates his goal against Igor Shesterkin #31 of the New York Rangers at 2:50 of the first period and is joined by Dougie Hamilton #7 (L) and Jonas Siegenthaler #71 (R) in Game Four of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 24, 2023 in New York, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 24: Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils (C) celebrates his goal against Igor Shesterkin #31 of the New York Rangers at 2:50 of the first period and is joined by Dougie Hamilton #7 (L) and Jonas Siegenthaler #71 (R) in Game Four of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 24, 2023 in New York, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – APRIL 18: (L-R) Patrick Kane #88, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers watch the closing minute of play against the New Jersey Devils during Game One in the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Prudential Center on April 18, 2023, in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – APRIL 18: (L-R) Patrick Kane #88, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers watch the closing minute of play against the New Jersey Devils during Game One in the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Prudential Center on April 18, 2023, in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Silent stars

I just talked about how Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad need to be better, but they are not the only perpetrators here. Outside of Chris Kreider and maybe Vladimir Tarasenko, the entire top six has not been good enough. There are players in this top six that have been considered the best in the NHL, some of the most gifted that the hockey landscape has ever known and they have been silent to this point.

No one embodies this more than Artemi Panarin. He’s in the conversation to be one of the best passers of the puck in hockey. He’s been deafly silent in this series. Just two assists through four games is not good enough for the best player on this Rangers team. If the Breadman doesn’t wake up soon and start to put the puck in the net, there is going to be a lot of time for him to put the ball in the hole on the golf course.

Patrick Kane is dealing with a lingering hip issue and he isn’t the same player he used to be. That is all fair to say. But I’d still suggest it is fair to expect more out of the 2013 Conn Smythe winner, a former Hart Trophy winner, and the former rookie of the year when he was a far younger man. This is not the Kane that dominated the league 10 years ago, but he is still better than this because this is just not going to be good enough.

If one of the Rangers stars does not wake up and make themselves heard in this series, it may be a very quick trip to New Jersey and back. Something needs to change for the Rangers moving forward and if their stars are not the ones to wake up and realize that their season is in very real danger of ending after the first round, they may as well book the golf courses they want to play on this summer.

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