The New York Rangers, in the midst of a race for the playoffs where they are four points out of the second wild card spot, lost 8-2 to the Buffalo Sabres in a game where it did not seem like they cared at all, a running theme this season. There are no more excuses, there is no more time, they either need to start winning or get busy dying.
Game Recap
One minute into the first period, K’Andre Miller turned the puck over while trying to exit the zone, his specialty this season, and Jack Quinn immediately put it past Igor Shesterkin, giving Buffalo a 1-0 lead. For the next ten minutes, play was mostly in the Rangers’ zone, and they couldn’t handle what Buffalo was throwing at them. Twelve minutes into the period, Jordan Greenway frolicked through the offensive zone before firing a shot from the blue line that Rasmus Dahlin tipped past Shesterkin to make it 2-0. Four minutes later, Tage Thompson outmuscled Adam Fox, drew a penalty, and put the puck past Shesterkin to bring the score to 3-0. Two minutes after that, Ryan McLeod ripped a shot past Shesterkin, making it 4-0. Under a minute later, after Sam Carrick was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking, Dahlin cashed in for his second goal, resulting in the pulling of Shesterkin for Jonathan Quick and ending the period at 5-0.
Less than a minute into the second period, Reilly Smith was sent to the penalty box for four minutes for a high stick that drew blood. The Rangers killed off the double minor on the back of Quick. Soon after, Mika Zibanejad was hooked by Beck Malenstyn, giving the Rangers a power play opportunity. Chris Kreider immediately cashed in on the power play with a tip on a pass from Artemi Panarin, making it 5-1. With just over ten minutes left, Malenstyn leveled Ryan Lindgren from behind and was sent to the penalty box, giving the Rangers another power play. The Sabres killed off the boarding minor, but a second after the power play ended, Zibanejad batted his own rebound past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, making it 5-2, which is how the period ended.
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A few minutes into the third period, Thompson beat Quick on a shot that he should have stopped, making it 6-2 and putting the game out of reach. A few minutes later, after turning the puck over, McLeod scored his second of the night, extending their lead to 7-2. The Rangers got a power play opportunity but could not cash in despite many chances. With seven and a half minutes left, the Rangers drew another penalty, yet they failed to convert on the ensuing power play. With 35 seconds left, Henri Jokiharju scored from the high slot, making it 8-2, which would be the final.
Rangers Takeaways
- Goaltending was one of the stories for the Rangers tonight. Shesterkin could not stop a beach ball, and when the Rangers looked like they were mounting a comeback, Quick let in a softy that put the game out of reach. Although Quick played well in relief until that goal, it was not just the goaltending—defense also played a significant role, as the Rangers have been defensively horrendous this season, and those struggles continued tonight.
- The Rangers produced little at even strength, with their two goals coming on the power play and immediately after. They also failed to defend at even strength. The questions raised all season remain unanswered, and the trades have not helped either. If the Rangers continue playing this way, they will soon no longer be competing in any meaningful hockey until October 2025.
- The team has made many questionable decisions this season, such as trading away Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil, and extending Will Borgen—who has only played two full NHL seasons—to a five-year, $4.1 million deal. While adding a center who scored 103 points last season is hard to argue with, doing so in a season when they were not in a playoff spot is questionable, especially considering J.T. Miller is signed through his age-36 season and has trade protections until his contract expires. Furthermore, these decisions do not make much sense in the context of last season, when no significant additions were made at the deadline despite star players like Jake Guentzel being available. Chris Drury inherited a situation that was solid but marred by issues such as the Jacob Trouba contract, and overall, something is deeply wrong with this Rangers team. Whether it is due to age, the players, the coaching, or the front office remains speculation, but most of the “elite” players are locked into long-term contracts.
- Finally, lineup management makes no sense. Refusing to try Will Cuylle with Panarin and Miller is perplexing, and taking Zibanejad off that line is equally baffling, as the trio had been playing well together on the top line. It is reminiscent of the beginning of the season, when the Rangers started 12-4-1 and then, after inexplicable lineup changes, the team began to fall apart.
- The season is not lost or over yet, but with every loss, the hill becomes more difficult to climb and time is running out. The losses to bad teams need to stop. After tonight, the Rangers are four points out of the wild card—four points behind the first wild card Ottawa Senators, four behind the second wild card Detroit Red Wings, and two behind both the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Boston Bruins, although they have one game in hand on Boston. As Andy Dufresne said in The Shawshank Redemption, “Get busy living or get busy dying.” That sentiment could not be more true for the 2024-25 iteration of the Rangers.
