The New York Rangers finally got back in the win column with a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden, but one win doesn’t erase the bigger problem hanging over this team.
A club that opened 7-3-1 is now 8-7-1, and the early spark that made them look so dangerous has clearly faded. They have one more home game left before a four-game road trip, and that trip could tell the story of where this season is headed.
The biggest hit to the Rangers came when Igor Shesterkin went down with a season-ending injury in the team’s sixth game. From there, the net belonged to Dylan Garand, and he has handled the workload as well as could be expected from a goalie who had only three NHL games under his belt before this season.
Still, there’s no replacing Shesterkin, and the strain has only grown with Joonas Korpisalo also sidelined. Garand has now been forced into 11 straight starts, and he is set for his 12th in a row when the Rangers host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The issues go well beyond the crease, though. The offense has gone quiet in spots, with Pavel Dorofeyev and Mika Zibanejad not scoring at the level the Rangers need.
The bottom six has not chipped in enough either, leaving too much pressure on the top of the lineup. On the back end, Adam Fox has been the steady presence, but the rest of the defense has not held up its end.
Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi have not looked as sharp as they did earlier in the season, and Durzi, who had been playing through an injury, has missed the last two games. Too often, the defense has left Garand on an island.
That imbalance has shown up even more clearly away from MSG. The Rangers are 7-2-0 at home, but on the road they are 1-5-1, with their only win coming against the Detroit Red Wings in their home opener.
At home, they’ve looked quicker and more organized, and they’ve usually been able to strike first. On the road, they have too often handed control to the other team right away, and that has put them behind before they can settle in.
The schedule is about to test them again. Four of their next five games are on the road, and the opponents are a mixed bag.
The Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken are both among the top three teams in the Pacific Division, and the Oilers already beat the Rangers at MSG a few days ago. The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks sit near the bottom of that division and are rebuilding.
If the Rangers want to come out of this stretch in decent shape, they need to take care of the Flames and Canucks and at least stay competitive against the Oilers and Kraken.
The Blues win was a start, but the Rangers still have work to do if they want to turn this around. They need more from their top scorers, especially Dorofeyev and Zibanejad, who have combined for seven goals a month into the season.
Those two have recently been skating with Alexis Lafreniere, but the line has not clicked yet. If that group starts to find chemistry and finish more chances, it would give the Rangers a much-needed lift.
They also need the defense to do a better job protecting whoever is in goal. Korpisalo is expected back on the upcoming road trip, but the Rangers cannot keep leaning on their goaltenders to cover for breakdowns in front of them. Garand and Korpisalo both need support, and the blue line has to tighten up.
Even with the slump, the Rangers are still third in the Metropolitan Division as of writing. One strong run could change the mood fast. They’ve already shown more fight this season than they did in the past two years, and if they can rediscover their game on this road trip, they may be able to build momentum that lasts.
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