The Rangers were destined to lose to the Blackhawks tonight, and here's why no one should be panicking about it

In 1789, American Founding Father, inventor and philosopher Benjamin Franklin wrote in a letter to French physicist Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, "...nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

I'm sure you know this because you've seen it plastered on many a Facebook page. People love pithy quotes they can attribute to important historical figures, often entirely without merit (though in this case the quote is genuine). In the spirit of this popular pastime, I'd like to put forth what I believe Benjamin Franklin would've said had he been alive now and happened to have penned that everlasting bit of prose earlier on this very afternoon:

"“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes...AND the New York Rangers' impending loss to the Chicago Blackhawks later tonight.”

"

Ben Franklin, Fairweather Flyers Fan

In the hours leading up to tonight's game, I was already preparing for this exact outcome. I was so convinced of this eventuality that I even wrote out a rare TikTok I planned to post before puck drop explaining exactly why I felt this way, but ultimately gave up when I ran out of time and finally realized why no one ever "writes out" TikToks (I'm old). But I have the timestamps to prove it! Even if I didn't, it wouldn't stop me from sharing some of it with you now.

I wrote, The New York Rangers can improve on a four-game point streak they started since Adam Fox was placed on long term IR and all they gotta do is beat the flailing Chicago Blackhawks tonight, who are 2-6-2 in their last 10 and can’t score.
Here’s how they could blow that if they’re not careful.
The Blackhawks are bad but operate on a formula the rangers have occasionally deployed themselves. All they need are two players. One is goalie Spencer Knight, who has had a season comparable to Igor Shesterkin’s, the team around him is just way worse…except for one player. Connor Bedard has 40 points in 29 games and will be the most dangerous skater on the ice tonight. If he can generate two goals, which is pretty typical for him, Knight is more than capable of out-goalie-ing the King of the Goaliers,
Puck drop is 7:30 eastern in Chicago.

TikTok gold, I'm sure! Sadly we'll never know. Here's what we do know. This kind of loss was coming like a freight train for the Rangers. Despite their inspiring holiday run up to this point in December, the Blueshirts' season-long scoring woes have actually been worsening.

Now, just because maybe we could've seen this coming doesn't make it any less frustrating, right? Of course not, but the wording is very important there. This is a very frustrating, annoying loss. The most important part of that sentence was what was not said, and this issue has been bubbling and bubbling among Rangers fandom since at least last year's collapse. This season it has felt as if almost every setback, every loss, heaven-forbid every west-coast road trip losing streak, has been met by some fans (and even by some media members) like each and every negative outcome is its own individual catastrophe.

I understand exactly what it feels like to be so heavily invested in this particular sports franchise. It's not an easy life. But the extremity of the mood swings among certain sects of the fanbase is frankly concerning. This is supposed to be fun!

[[Proactively ducks to the floor seconds before a cloud of capless beer bottles large enough to blot out the sun rains down upon me]]

Okay, at the very least this is supposed to be an activity that shouldn't create fodder for our next trip to therapy. Not only do you not need to be mad after every (perceived) bad loss, it's actually totally fine to maintain a modicum of optimism, even! Especially in this case. Here's a very brief rundown why:

1. This team is (rightfully) exhausted from an absolutely brutal schedule

Tonight's game was the Rangers' 32nd of the season. No other team in the entire National Hockey League has played that many games. A few have played 31, a few more 30, many more have played even less than and the Seattle Kraken have played FIVE fewer games than the New York Rangers. That includes five instances of back-to-back games and does not include the two more back to backs coming NEXT WEEK. I'm tired after just writing that paragraph, imagine how the team feels. Igor Shesterkin has started two more games than any other goalie in the league. The boys are tired. BUT... unlike last year, they are fighting. It's December and they're taking the best teams in the league to the brink and even pulling out victories. When you play this hard for that long, losses like tonight's are a virtual certainty. Just remember, though, everyone is playing 82. Other teams will soon feel, or are already starting to feel the heat the Rangers have been withstanding, and a slightly more breezy second half of the season is on its way, along with the Olympic break.

2. Mike Sullivan is not afraid to experiment, but that comes with consequences

...as we saw with the shorthanded goal tonight. Even still, Sullivan is operating at a level we haven't seen a coach reach potentially in a generation. There's very clearly tons of method to the madness, but that madness also means little time for forward line and special team cohesion. Some of that has been a result of working around key injuries. Some does kind of seem like a bit of stubbornness on Sullivan's part (i.e. keeping Trocheck-Panarin-Lafreniere apart even though they've outproduced every other line combination this season by factor or two while also only playing together for a total of 100 minutes of ice time). If anyone has earned my patience, though, it's him.

3. Every team loses bad games

Here's a riddle: what do the Mammoth, Bruins, Devils, Sharks, Wild, Islanders and Predators have in common? They're all teams that have beaten the Colorado Avalanche this year. Several of those teams sit below the Rangers in the standings. The Dallas Stars lost to the Vancouver Canucks in regulation this season...

... THE DALLAS STARS LOST TO THE NEW YORK RANGERS THIS SEASON.

See? Stuff happens. Take it with some perspective and we move on together.

It's okay to shake it off and crack a couple jokes, even at this point in the season. As Winston Churchill famously said*, "Ask me again after the Olympics."

*The veracity of this passage is up for debate amongst scholars.