The Collapse That Defines the Season: Rangers Fall Flat vs. Flyers

It's probably a sign you're on life support when Mika Zibanejad gets a penalty shot against the Philadelphia Flyers and misses the net entirely. That's how Wednesday evening started. Somehow, it only got worse from there.

Gabe Perreault scratched, fans frustrated, and the New York Rangers — clinging to the slimmest playoff hopes — threw up another dud at Madison Square Garden in an 8-5 defeat on Wednesday night. Despite a few sparks here and there, they got run over in the third period by a team that was also eliminated. It's hard to say the Blueshirts deserved anything more.

Jonathan Quick was sharp in the first — robbing Travis Konecny on an early odd-man rush that could've opened the floodgates.

Moments later, the hosts' power play existed. The crowd booed as it expired, and for good reason. Seconds after it ended, Ryan Poehling nearly scored short-handed. Four Nations champion for Canada Travis Sanheim found him on a breakaway, and he rang it off the bar. Then, to top it off, the Rangers got tagged for too many men. Again. They lead the league in that stat, which says, "We don't know what we're doing."

Yet, hey, they struck first. Vincent Trocheck, in full "fantasy finals hero" mode, danced in on a breakaway and scored short-handed. That was shorty No. 16 for the season. The Blueshirts have more shorties than power-play goals this year. MSG popped even harder when they announced that Quick got the assist.

Second Period? You Know Where This Is Going:

It didn't take long. Tyson Foerster (who had himself a night) sniped one after a sloppy failed clear from Braden Schneider and Zibanejad. Tie game. The Rangers had chances. Zac Jones, Will Cuylle, and even Matt Rempe got in there, but Flyers rookie goalie Alexei Kolosov stood tall. The Blueshirts went back to the man-advantage again, and still nothing.

Three power plays, six minutes of man advantage time, one shot on goal, and one shorty yielded to Garnett Hathaway for a 2-1 Philadelphia lead and a building that had seen enough. Boos rained down as had become a common theme at the world's most expensive arena.

Artemi Panarin, though — face bloodied, looking like he just stepped out of a fight scene scored a beauty. He drove the net, forehand-backhand, and buried No. 300 of his career to square things with 1:28 left in the second. That goal deserved better than the game it was stuck inside of.

The Third Period Collapse That Defines the Rangers' Season

It took less than four minutes for the Flyers to restore the momentum. Travis Sanheim crashed down, and no one decided to cover him. Rebound goal. 3-2 Philly. However, Jonny Brodzinski tied it back up with a gritty fourth-line snipe from the left boards, and suddenly there was life again. We witnessed Rempe crashing and chaos in the crease, the kind of effort we wish showed up on the power play.

Then Zibanejad, the same Mika who missed the penalty shot, picked up his third assist of the night, feeding J.T. Miller for a one-timer to give the Blueshrits a 4-3 lead. 

Unfortunately, Quick — who had been decent — started spilling rebounds like he was auditioning for a blooper reel. Jacob Pelletier, then Sean Couturier, got on the scoresheet. The Rangers were chasing shadows.

A Tyson Foerster clapper made it 6-4, before Chris Kreider, on a feed from Adam Fox, pulled the Rangers within 6-5. The Ranger stressed for the equalizer, but the 2020 #23rd overall pick Foerster hit the empty net for his first hat trick in the show. I threw my hat at the TV. I respect the craft of the 23-year-old Canadian who stole the spotlight on Broadway. For laughs, Owen Tippett wired one from 200 feet into an empty net to seal it 8-5—six Flyers goals in the third.

The final horn didn't bring anger. It brought exhaustion. Four games and eight days left in this mess of a season, and it truly can't end fast enough. Let's start with the power play — if you can even call it that. It went 0-for-3 —one shot and one goal allowed. Since March 5, the Rangers have been outscored while on the man advantage. 

Still, Laviolette trots out the same crew every time, as something will magically click. "I think playing games is important," he said pregame. "There's sometimes taking a step back and watching a game, too." Yeah, but Gabe Perreault — the team's most promising prospect — was in the press box. If you're trying to show that you're serious about the future, explain how this makes sense. It doesn't.

Zibanejad's night was bizarre. He finished with four assists, but it was overshadowed by a missed penalty shot and more than a few head-scratching moments in his zone. He looked disconnected — like much of this team has lately.

Postgame, Fox didn't mince anything. "It's just the same story, right?" he said. "Breakdowns, confusion, who's got who… guys are left wide open. Could've been more if Quickie didn't make a few good saves." You could hear the fatigue in his voice. Laviolette's tone was different. When asked about the breakdowns and Fox's comment, he deflected. "There was no confusion. There were just missed assignments," he said. I guess this is a nicer way of saying, "We can't execute the basics of defense at the NHL level." Cool. The Blueshirts have a coach who won't call it like it is and a locker room that appears they're just riding out the clock as they become the fourth team to miss the playoffs after winning the President's Trophy a year prior.

Again, this performance was flat, lifeless, and uninspired. This team doesn't deserve to be in the playoff party, and they know it. The Montreal Canadiens will officially and joyously put them out of their misery Thursday night by locking up the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Then, we can mercifully turn the page to a crucial offseason for this bumbling original six-organization