It's three wins in the last thirteen games for the New York Rangers, and the fires are starting to run out of control. It's been needless, and the Rangers still struggle to win games. Getting shut out in Nashville puts an exclamation point on the issues, but that happens. Juuse Saros is a fantastic goaltender who'll steal games for his team sometimes. The Rangers' problems stem from one major flaw, and it should be an easy fix for the Rangers, at least in theory.
Peter Laviolette has been blending the lines to try and get a response from his group. He's trying to increase scoring and score the issues away. It's a good idea but unnecessary, according to public analytical models. According to NaturalStatTrick, the New York Rangers rank 7th in the league in expected goals for over 60 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey (xGF/60). That's fine and should represent a playoff team. It's undoubtedly not indicative of a roster having the issues the Rangers are.
We need to look at the other end of the ice for that. New York's expected goals against per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time (xGA/60) is 2.85, 4th worst in the NHL. Only Montreal, Anaheim, and San Jose are worse. The numbers show a simple fix for Chris Drury to save his job and the Rangers season. Pick up a few defensemen who are better than what the Blueshirts have right now - not point producers like Erik Gustafsson, but genuine shutdown defenseman of the mold of the Mattias Ekholm to Edmonton deal.
Looking around the league, these guys are hard to find. If a defenseman is strong defensively, they tend to find their way to teams that are among the NHL's best. New York's front office would have to find that name on their own, and with the looming roster freeze for the Christmas period, the Rangers would have to get it done soon if they want an immediate impact. All these struggles stem from just a few defensive mistakes. Drury can fix everything by addressing that, and he now has all the cap space to work with from the Trouba trade.