On Saturday afternoon, the New York Rangers were battered by the Los Angeles Kings, 5-1, at Madison Square Garden. The Blueshirts (15-13-1) were not competitive for most of the game and have now lost nine out of their last 12.
The loss against Los Angeles felt like rock bottom in what has been a miserable month; New York was not ready from the jump and paid for it early, going down 2-0 in the first and it did not get better.
It was sure to be a long flight to St. Louis last night, and now the Rangers face the Blues (14-14-3) in their second game of a back-to-back. St. Louis is 5-2-2 under new head coach Jim Montgomery, whose first game in charge was a 5-2 beating of the Rangers on Nov. 25.
If New York wants to right the ship, it's going to have to come soon. Here's three storylines to watch against St. Louis on Dec. 15.
1. Goaltending
New York pulled Igor Shesterkin midway through the second period after giving up five goals on 21 shots, and in relief, Jonathan Quick had 11 saves against his former team. While the game was over, Quick did not give up a goal.
It will assumingly be Quick tonight against the Blues, and for the Rangers, neither goalie has been quite up to par as they were last season. In Quicks last start, he gave up six goals on 21 shots in a loss to the Seattle Kraken.
A storyline for the Rangers is always goaltending, because when Quick or Shesterkin are playing at an elite level, the Rangers have a chance to win every game. But, that has not been the case this season.
2. The Core vs the Youngins
This Rangers core - Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, Vincent Trocheck, and a few others - have not had a good start to the season. Zibanejad, Kreider and Trocheck have failed to make a significant impact in many games and are centers of a lot of criticism.
Moreover, some of these players have been outperformed by younger players. Will Cuylle, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere, Brett Berard and Filip Chytil have all been better this season and deserve more ice time. Don't be surprised if Peter Laviolette gives it to them.
3. Is this what the 2024-2025 New York Rangers are?
There was the memo released by Chris Drury. There was the "blockbuster" trade that sent captain Jacob Trouba to Anaheim. There's been a lot of noise around the locker room. And nothing has woken this Rangers team up.
With the season reaching halfway, maybe this is what the New York Rangers are and this is what they were meant to be. Maybe last season - where New York set franchise records in wins and points but lost in the Eastern Conference Final - was the year for the Rangers to bring the cup home. They did not do it.
This season is slipping away and after all the highs of the past few years, if the Rangers don't figure it out fast, fans will be wondering what could have been.