Hurricane of Mistakes: Rangers Blown Away in Brutal Shutout

The New York Rangers had a night to forget at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, falling 4-0 to the Carolina Hurricanes. It wasn't just their first Garden shutout loss since December 27, 2022, against the Washington Capitals.

That was a lesson in execution, urgency, and what happens when you don't bring your best against a quality opponent for 60 minutes, with all the scoreboard damage done at the beginning or end of periods. From the start, the Blueshirts were playing catch-up. Artemi Panarin's early turnover led directly to Andrei Svechnikov's first of two goals 56 seconds into the contest, and the Hurricanes never looked back.

"They come at you in layers," former Rangers goaltender and MSG analyst Steve Valiquette said on the broadcast. "Going through one is going through three."

That was the league-leading ninth time the Rangers yielded a goal within two minutes of the maiden puck drop. For a team riding high off a 10-game point streak, this game was a harsh reminder that bad habits can creep back in fast.

The Rangers had opportunities to turn the game around, but they let them slip away. There was Sam Carrick, who dropped the gloves with Riley Stillman, staring at the equalizer but was beat to the puck by the lunging Svechnikov.

Then, still down 1-0 in the second frame, Vincent Trocheck found himself with a shorthanded breakaway. Instead of shooting, he tried to pass back, only for the puck to deflect off a Carolina skate and lead to a 3 on 1 rush. It resulted in Svechnikov's second, with 31 seconds remaining in the middle stanza. It was Mikko Rantanen's first point since the trade and meant New York had allowed the first post-trade point to everyone in the weekend blockbuster.

Rantanen and Taylor Hall recorded assists in this one, while Jack Drury scored, and Martin Necas had two assists for the Avalanche at MSG on Sunday.

"Gostisbehere was chasing me down on my forehand," Trocheck explained. "I couldn't get the puck there, and I was too tight to Andersen to get it around him. It's a tough angle for me. Could've shot it and buried it into his chest or tried to make a play. Unlucky bounce."

Unlucky bounce after poor decsion making and not enough attention to detail. Situational awareness is crucial to being a Stanley Cup contender as the Blueshirts can attest too from winning the Presidents Trophy last year. That Trocheck gaffe was the season in a nutshell.

The hosts were booed off the ice at the end of the second, and things got worse. Two quick goals in the opening minutes of the third, courtesy of Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, put the baby to bed. They should've been given their milk bottle in the second, but Igor Shesterkin, stopped a flurry of odd-man rushes giving the boys more playtime. The building emptied as the Rangers seeminly crumbled under the pressure.

Panarin's Mistakes and Valiquette's Call for Accountability

The Breadman has been one of the Rangers' best players this season, but his mistakes have been costly. It's not the first time his defensive play has been questioned. Sunday against Colorado, he failed to get back after a turnover, leading to the Artturi Lehkonen game-winning goal with 15 seconds remaining in a heartbreaking 5-4 loss.

Valiquette didn't hold back in his assessment during the first intermission.

"You have to sit him now," he said. "Not for the whole period, but you miss a turn. You tap the player and say, 'You're missing a turn here for that earlier turnover.'"

Head coach Peter Laviolette didn't share that particular view, as Panarin logged 21:39 of ice time. Small mistakes can become big problems if they aren't addressed, and it seems nobody did tha properly between Sunday and Tuesday.

Power Play Woes

If the Rangers needed a moment to shift the momentum, they had one on the power play in the second period, still within 1-0. Chris Kreider, usually automatic around the net, had a golden opportunity but lost control of the puck at the last second. Frederik Andersen, who had a 22-save shutout with 2.89 goals saved above expected, kicked it away at the last second. The Danish netminder became the fourth different goaltender to blank the Blueshirts this season, which happened three times in the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined.

It's left veteran's like Kreider searching for answers, he implied postgame.

"I know it's a team game, but personally I feel like there was three massive plays that I had the ability to impact the game positively and it swung the other way. So, it's hard", he said.

The 33-year-old hasn't scored a power-play goal since December 30, and it's not just him. The Blueshirts' power play, once pacing the hockey world, is ice cold. They went 0-for-3 on the night and are now ranked 21st in the NHL at 19.8%.

"I do think there's an element of that," Kreider said when asked if he was pressing. "I double-clutch on the one I had tonight. My game has been OK, but it's the big, pivotal moments … It's an inch this way, an inch that way." The Rangers were in a great spot after their 10-game point streak. After back-to-back losses, they fight to stay on the right side of the playoff picture.

They have a few days to regroup before facing the Boston Bruins on Saturday. They don't just need a win — they need a response. Being beaten by a better team is one thing. Being outworked and out-executed? That's a problem. One, the blue shirts need to be fixed fast.