Rangers Blanked for Eighth Time

If someone told you before the season that the New York Rangers would be shut out eight times during the 2025-26 campaign, your response would have been, where do I place a bet against that. How about eight times in the first 40 games? You would have doubled and tripled down. Well, guess what, here is where we are after a 2-0 whitewash by the Islanders last night. Forty games, eight blankings against the Blueshirts. Even in your worst nightmare, that would not have been on your radar. 

Game recap:

Rangers lines on the Island:

Panarin-Zibanejad-Lafrenière
Perreault-Trocheck-Cuylle
Brodzinski-Laba-Raddysh
Othmann-Carrick-Rempe

Gavrikov-Schneider
Soucy-Borgen
Robertson-Morrow

Shesterkin
Quick

Scratches: Berard, Sheary
IR: Miller (upper-body injury)
LTIR: Fox (upper-body injury), Edström (lower-body injury)

A few thoughts:

1)  Shutouts: Peter Baugh in The Athletic wrote this in his column today. Eight shutout losses for the Rangers are “as many shutout losses as they suffered in 276 games between Feb. 7, 2022, and Oct. 6, 2025, the day before the 2025-26 season began. The Rangers are one of only seven teams this century to have eight shutouts in the first half of their year, per NHL Stats. They’re halfway to the modern-day season record held by the 2006-07 Blue Jackets, who had 16 on the year.”

We know few players are having a great year, yet eight shutouts is beyond belief. Saturday was another one of those contests where the Rangers had opportunities to score, yet once again, were unable to dent the net. Either the opposing goalie stands on his head or the pop gun offense can’t break through or a combination of both. David Rittich was very good yesterday while Will Cuylle had a double-ping on what looked to be a goal, both though are hollow thoughts. 

Irrespective of which one or if there is another cause, the team too often mixes games like Tuesday where they rally for five goals in the third and score seven times with contests like yesterday and they are blanked, again. 

2) Slow start again: three coaches, yet same story. A slow start dooms the team. Both teams had not played since before the holiday break. The Islanders came out like they were ready to play, scoring 58 seconds in, while the Rangers slept for the first 10 minutes of the contest. It’s amazing and astonishing that this continues to happen regardless of who the coach is. Maybe then it’s not the coach but the players?

3) Power play: ugly, again. Three changes, three failures. A penalty shot – questionably awarded – to Carson Soucy,, not surprisingly resulted in failure. igor Shesterkin – who deserved a better fate – pulled late – the result was an empty net goal against.
 
The days where the power play and goaltending carried the team to wins they didn’t likely deserve are long past. Maybe the return of Adam Fox (and eventual return of JT Miller) will spark the man-advantage. Until then, struggles will remain. Saturday, after going 0-for-3, the power play has converted on only five of 37 chances (13.5 percent) in the 13 games since Fox went down with a shoulder injury. At least the penalty kill was solid, going 5-for-5 in the loss.

4) Roster: Fox practiced Friday, but did not play Saturday. He practiced again Sunday but is not expected to dress Monday. It’s possible he sits again Wednesday and plays for the first time in a month Friday in the Winter Classic in Miami.

Brett Berard, who was up with the team, was sent down to Hartford on Sunday. Not sure why he remained up if he was not going to be used. Berard hasn’t earned a roster spot or place in the active roster, but then send him down immediately to try and bank future cap space.