The New York Rangers were riding high on Saturday after rallying to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 5-4 following a win in the shootout, and the hope is they'd be able to carry that over on Sunday as the team headed back on the road to Nashville. The exact opposite happened, and the Rangers had a disappointing performance that was called out by alternate captain Vincent Trocheck.
Trocheck offers blunt assessment of Rangers' performance against Predators
Following the game Trocheck was pretty direct about what he felt was the Rangers' biggest issue, and he summed it up with, "pride." When asked for more information, the Blueshirts' alternate captain opined, "It just looked f*cking dead."
The Rangers fell to 18-16-4 on the season, and have 40 points in 38 games played. They've played the most games in the league to date, and that factors into their uphill climb for a playoff spot. Even though they are just a point out of the playoffs, the Philadelphia Flyers have 41 points in just 34 games, and the New Jersey Devils have 41 points in 36 games.
The Rangers have yet to win the second leg of a back-to-back this season, and are now 0-6-1 on the season. New York had six shots in the first, four in the second, and seven in the third period for a total of 17 shots in 60 minutes. The Predators had 15 in the first, 11 in the second, and six in the final frame for a total of 32 shots.
New York went 0 for 3 on the power play, and went 2 for 2 on the penalty kill, so it was a mixed bag on special teams in what ultimately was a one-goal game after Jonny Brodzinski scored at 19:23 of the third period to prevent the Rangers from being shutout again.
Rangers were shorthanded, but that's not something to be used as an excuse
The Rangers were already without Adam Fox and J.T. Miller because of injuries, and they were also without Gabe Perreault and Matt Rempe who were sick with something that's going through the room. Artemi Panarin missed a game against the St. Louis Blues with an illness, and returned on Saturday and was the team's best player.
When did the #NYR find out they'd be without Perreault and Rempe?
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) December 22, 2025
Sullivan: "We had an idea. They came to the rink this morning not feeling well. They were pretty sick, both of them, so we had a feeling this morning that we probably were going to be without them. This afternoon,…
The Rangers responded by reinserting Brodzinski and Taylor Raddysh into the lineup, and both were the only skater to tally a point. The biggest issue of the game was the team's ability to compete and get shots on net. Brodzinski had five shots, Alexis Lafreniere had two shots on goal, Vladislav Gavrikov had two shots on net, and then Panarin, Raddysh, Sam Carrick, Conor Sheary, Braden Schneider, Urho Vaakanainen, Matthew Robertson, and Scott Morrow each had a shot on goal.
This means Trocheck, the man who called out the Rangers for not playing with pride, had zero shots on the evening. He led forwards with 24:15 of ice time, and was second only to Gavrikov in total minutes. It is getting late early for the Rangers, and it is understandable for them to have bad games with such a hellish schedule. But the team had 17 shots against a Predators team that is now 15-16-4 on the season with a -19 goal differential, and a team that started Justus Annunen who has a 3.73 goals against average and .865 save percentage on the season. Time and time again the team isn't able to play meaningful hockey in the second half of a back to back, and it is something that could prevent them from making the playoffs.
One more game, and then a bit of a break
The Rangers have one more game before the holiday break, and it is a road game against the Washington Capitals. The Caps are 19-12-5 with 43 points in 36 games, and are 4-3-3 in their last 10 games played. Hopefully the team uses Monday as a day to rest and recover, and those who are sick start to feel a bit better. For better, and possibly for worse, this is the squad the Rangers have right now.
With key players injured and no real options in the minor leagues to draw from, it is unlikely that President and General Manager Chris Drury is going to make serious additions to a team that appears to have too many fatal flaws to compete.
Some tough decision will need to be made in terms of players who could be moved out to kickstart a mini retool, and those decisions will likely be made at the end of January and right before the Olympic break. If the Rangers come out with fire on Tuesday and play a meaningful game, Sunday's performance can be rationalized. But if they do not, it will be another opportunity squandered, and another loss that puts the Rangers in jeopardy for missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season.