Another game, another despicable effort from a hockey club that looked like they were poised to repeat as Presidents' Trophy winners. The New York Rangers have once again fallen completely flat, this time in the Hudson River Rivalries' first act of 2024-25, against the New Jersey Devils.
The final score may have read 5-1, but it wasn't even that close. The Rangers were flat-footed, weak, and unorganized against a Devils team that was beatable two weeks ago. There is no way that this team could continue like this with no changes, so what needs to happen now?
What needs to happen for the Rangers to revive this fanbase and this season?
Scorched Earth
After taking it to the Montreal Canadiens over the weekend, the consensus was that the Rangers were on their way back to being a winning hockey club. But, the performance put on against the Devils on Monday night pushed the narrative that this team will be selling immediately, and at any price to revive the season. The time for scorched earth is now.
Before the Blueshirts suit up again against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night, there will be changes made. This could be several different things. The first would be a complete teardown of the defensive unit, with the only real safe players being Adam Fox and K'Andre Miller. Everyone else is on the trade block, and if the deal is there, you have to believe that General Manager Chris Drury is gonna take it.
Second, Mika Zibanejad's days are numbered in New York. The negative output generated from his contributions every single game is starting to take a toll on this offense. The Rangers rely on him to be that number one centerman, which mirrors his previous 70+ point seasons. His dependability and reliability have been under constant question all season, and it may be time for Z-bad to have a change of scenery. Problem is, who will replace him, if they cannot get someone in return to fill his spot.
Lastly, goaltending. This is something that shouldn't be in question at this point of the season, but here we are. Igor Shesterkin is faltering, stalling and overall underperforming during this recent losing stretch. In some games, he is a monster, with no help on the offensive end. Or some games, like Monday night against the Devils, he is Swiss cheese in the net, and he couldn't even stop a beach ball. The inconsistency is scary, and it is a shame for him that he didn't sign that very lucrative contract offer before the start of this season, because he is not worth that now.
Where do we go from here?
Much like I had written about Drury's comments that may have doomed this season, it is going to take every single shift of the next 58 games to turn this thing around. Not one move or trade is going to fix this mess, and the core group is going to have to lead them out of the dark.
Chris Kreider was a bright spot in Monday's massacre against the Devils, scoring a powerplay goal. That does not protect him from being offloaded, but it does show that he can still provide a necessary value to this team. He is important enough to keep around.
After all, Kreider did say what every Rangers fan was thinking, "I think we're finding different ways to lose right now as opposed to finding different ways to win".
Head Coach Peter Laviolette has a lot to do over the next few days to try and fix this club. The lines have been a revolving door over the last few games, and you should not expect it to be any different against the Penguins later this week. Something has to stick at this point.
How would you fix the Rangers?