On Tuesday night, it felt like the New York Rangers hit rock bottom - for the second time in eight days, they lost to the last-placed team in the NHL, falling 2-0 to the Nashville Predators.
Things keep on getting worse for the Rangers, who are now 15-15-1 on the season and see their playoff hopes slipping away. New York is five points behind the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. But, right now, the hope should not be the playoffs, rather winning a game.
Tonight, New York returns to the ice for the final game of a three-game road trip. Their opponent is the Dallas Stars, who similar to New York, lost in the 2024 conference finals in six games.
Here's three Rangers storylines to follow tonight:
1. The Return of Rempe (and Perhaps Panarin)
One of the flurry of roster moves made was the Rangers calling up Matt Rempe, who will slot into the lineup tonight in Dallas. Though Rempe's actual contributions are sometimes minimal, he always brings the energy, and this is what New York needs in tough times. Don't be surprised if he does something polarizing tonight.
Another possible returnee for the Rangers is leading point-scorer Artemi Panarin, who has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury. Panarin is currently listed as a game-time decision.
2. Will Borgen's Debut
New York acquired Borgen from Seattle in the trade that sent Kaapo Kakko to the west coast, and reports indicate that the Rangers have targeted Borgen for a while. The 28-year-old has two points in 33 games this season, but he should provide some of the defensive stability the Rangers are looking for.
It's been 15 days since the Rangers traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, and it did not solve all of the Rangers' defensive problems. Hopefully, Borgen can help them take a step in the right direction.
3. If Not Now, When?
This was something that had to be asked on Tuesday - if the Rangers could not beat a bottom-tier NHL team, when are they going to get out of their funk? Now, New York faces a tough end to 2024, starting tonight: they face cup-contenders in Dallas, Carolina and New Jersey in the next three games, then after a short break go to Florida and face the surging Lightning and defending champion Panthers.
New York HAS to find a way to get some wins in this tough stretch or any dreams fans had going into this season might be exhausted.