The Rangers were embarrassed on home ice Thursday, falling 4-1 to the Predators. Nashville was one, two or three steps quicker than New York all night, getting to seemingly every loose puck while thwarting any offensive chance. The Blueshirts head to the road for five games - which should be a good thing - starting Saturday in Seattle.
A few thoughts: 1) Too many passengers - through four games, there are very few players that have shown up in each contest. I would put Artemi Panarin on that list, Chris Kredier as well. We have seen some players be evident in two or three games but not many in all. Last night, it was not easy to find many who had a good game and way too easy to point out those who are struggling.
Up front, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere have yet to really step up and be consistent. Blake Wheeler, whose signing I liked as I thought he still had a little left in the tank, may have left his game in Winnipeg or in the first part of the pre-season. I know it's early, but he really has done little to stand out 1/20th into the season. Hard to win when so many players are let alone not at the top of their game but failing to even be prominent on the ice.
On the blue line, K'Andre Miller, who was brutal last night, has almost alternated good game, bad game through four contests. Braden Schneider has yet to look like the player jd traded up to pick and who was so good down the stretch in 2022. This is not to say the other four blueliners, save for probably Adam Fox, have been great, but the first two stand out for as bad as they have played.
2) Larry Brooks summed it perfectly below on the system. So many rightful talk about the system, especially coming off having a true system in place. But the system is not why the Rangers lost last night, same in Columbus, but at least there, the effort was tangible. Last night, eight odd man rushes and two breakaways were not due to the system. The lack of effort and Nashville's ability and deste to outwork the team were the keys. Chris Kreider recognized this post-game when he noted that the team has the system they need, the execution needs to be a lot better.
Systems are necessary. Adjustments are necessary. Structure is a requirement. But it is still the players who determine the outcome. At some point — and probably much sooner than later — outside fascination with Laviolette’s system will fade. And attention will be directed, as always, on the players.
It wasn’t the system that let down the Rangers; it was the Rangers who let down the system and each other. They could not establish any type of meaningful forecheck. They had issues getting out of their own end. They were disconnected with and without the puck in the neutral zone, while yielding a pair of breakaways and nearly two handfuls of odd-man rushes.
3) Road trip - the road trip should be a benefit to the team allowing and enabling further camaraderie. Home games only allow that to a certain extent, but when it's just the team in hostile environments as a collective unit. In addition, for all the talk about the system, this should allow the team to further work on mastering the 1-3-1 neutral zone trap.
If the road trip goes sideways, then further decisions would be needed. Could Brennan Othmman be a call up option, especially with the need for a speed infusion in the lineup? Does that depend on how Blake Wheeler is playing and how long do you give Wheeler to find his game? Would New York consider sending down Braden Schneider to Hartford to get back to the d-man we saw in 2022?
These and many other questions could get answered in the next five games or move more to the foreground.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»