The start of the New York Rangers' season has been weird, to say the least. On the road, they are an offensive juggernaut. But at home, they just can't put the puck past the opposing goaltender and in the net. On Tuesday night, the Rangers lost 2-0 to the Edmonton Oilers. As a result, the Rangers have become the first team in NHL history to not score a single goal in their first three home games of the season.
It may be early in the season, but Rangers fans are still concerned about the team's inability to put points on the scoreboard in Madison Square Garden, specifically.
After the game, Rangers captain J.T. Miller stressed that this "unique situation" can't be blown out of proportion, as he feels the team is still playing well.
J.T. Miller urges calm amid Rangers' historic scoreless streak at home
"It's a unique situation, but let's not blow this out of proportion. … There's a lot of good," said Miller, h/t Vince Mercogliano of The Athletic. "We're getting a lot of chances. This is a unique start to the season in the sense of, there have been games where we feel like we've really thrown a lot at the other team and we're not getting rewarded. So I think it's on us to make sure that the mindset stays the same in here, and we don't go off the grid to find something. We need to stay the course. Over time, the results will come."
Miller isn't saying this just to say it. The Rangers are getting scoring opportunities. It's not as though they are completely anemic and unable to put shots on the net. The chances are there, but they've just run into goalies doing their best brick wall impersonations.
In the team's game against the Oilers, they had a 15-3 advantage in high danger scoring chances, per Mercogliano. The Rangers did this against a team that boasts two of the best players in hockey in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. It's just that Stuart Skinner had an incredible game at the Rangers' expense, stopping all 30 of their shot attempts.
Even Skinner was stunned by the Rangers' scoreless streak at home, considering how aggressive they were on Tuesday night.
"To be honest, I didn't know. [Calvin Pickard] told me that right after the game, and I was honestly pretty shocked because of how they did play," said Skinner, h/t Daily Faceoff's Jonny Lazarus. Looking at them, I wouldn't imagine you're saying they're snake bitten...but they made some amazing plays. They got some really good chances. They were fighting, they were battling."
The Rangers will break through eventually at home. Their next game at Madison Square Garden is on Oct. 20 where they take on the Minnesota Wild.