The New York Rangers are a team that remains in crisis, and many top players are searching for answers. Recently J.T. Miller drew criticism for his inability to answer questions from the media, and the Blueshirts' captain gave an answer following the team's latest blowout loss that raised some eyebrows.
J.T. Miller's response to Rangers' effort against Ottawa Senators says it all
When asked about the game, Miller said,“Bad first period. We responded. Played pretty well after that.” When pressed on if getting off to a bad start led to negativity creeping in, Miller fired back, “No sh*t. We’d like to not be down 4-0 after the first but after that we responded well. Played with some pride.”
The Rangers going down 4-0 is something that wasn't all that surprising when considering the way they started the game. Early penalties, bad decisions with the puck, and some poor puck luck had them playing from behind. The Rangers and Senators both scored four goals the rest of the way, and the Blueshirts scoring some garbage time goals doesn't really feel like responding and playing with pride.
Mika Zibanejad gives an honest answer rooted in reality
Miller wasn't the only member of team leadership to speak after the game, and alternate captain Mika ZIbanejad was quite candid in his thoughts. He's been someone who has willing spoke after games throughout the season, and his take of things feels more honest than Miller.
Zibanejad lamented that, "early on this season, we lost games, but I thought the effort was there. I'm not saying the effort (isn’t there now), but our game isn’t. I thought we played better (and) we deserved better early on, but right now, we don't. And that's a tough pill to swallow."
His assessment is a better take of the situation, and feels more like what is happening with the Rangers. Much was made early on about the Rangers having a good process in place, and the results not being there.
With the team past the halfway point of the season it is evident that this is who the team is. The Rangers look lost right now, and part of that could be that they are without their two best players, the math isn't in their favor when it comes to making the playoffs, and there's no help on the way to push the team forward.
This is the earliest in recent memory that the Rangers have been playing truly meaningless hockey. New York missed the playoffs last year, but they ended the season within spitting distance of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Had a few things broken their way, the Rangers would have lucked their way into a spot. This year, however, the odds are not in their favor.
Where do the Rangers go from here?
James Dolan gave Chris Drury a full vote of confidence when he went on WFAN, and since that point the team has played dreadful hockey. The "fire Drury" chants continue to get larger and louder at Madison Square Garden, and as unlikely as it may be, making a change at the top of the pyramid is a move that may have to be made.
The Rangers are at a crossroads, and they need to maximize the returns of the players they could make available at the trade deadline. If the Rangers are truly going to take a new direction as they try and assemble a squad that is capable of making the playoffs and truly contending, they should install a new leader before making franchise altering trades. The Blueshirts are off on Thursday and Friday, and will look to get back on track against the Philadelphia Flyers. If after two days off the team comes out flat, something will finally have to give.